The World of Vastel
by Jurabi Therion
Summary: The World of Vastel was created by the Eight Guardian Spirits. But tragedy struck among them and one of their own had fallen, causing creatures named the Grimm to roam Vastel killing all life that they see. With the help of hunters and huntresses, mankind may have a chance to take back the world; especially with the help of a special teenager unlike any they've seen.
1. Therion Arc Chp 1: The Zenith Grimm

_~~10 Years Ago: December 12, 2990~~_

 _"Once upon a time, there lived eight spirits called the Guardians. These eight guardians decided to create Vastel and all life within it."_

 _"The Earth Guardian used his incredible power to create the earth and the plant life to thrive within it."_

 _"Two female Guardians, the Water and Air Guardians, used their power to fill the earth the Earth Guardian built. The Water Guardian created the oceans, rivers, and lakes while the Air Guardian breathed life into the animals, plants, humans, and faunus."_

 _"The Guardians needed a way to keep their creations from dying. Then the Fire, Thunder and Ice Guardians stepped in. Although the Fire and Ice Guardian quibbled and argued with one another often, they both got along with the help of the Thunder Guardian and performed their duties. The Fire Guardian used her power to keep half of the world warm with the creation of the sun while the Ice Guardian cooled the other half with his blue moon. The Thunder Guardian, though he was powerful with lightning, managed to create the clouds that provided weather beneficial to the plants and the world."_

 _"Finally, the world needed a way for the heat and cold to take turns with each other's half. The Light and Dark Guardians, despite being complete opposites, were the closest of friends and came to a healthy agreement to share half of the world with each other and gave scheduled times for their sun and moon to swap places."_

 _"And thus, the world was made. In honor of the birth of a new and bright world, the Guardians named the world after their father: Vastel. The Guardians then swore an oath to keep the peace and harmony in Vastel safe from harm."_

 _"However, as the Guardians watched over the growth of humanity and faunus-kind, their attachments to the beings also grew faster than any of them had expected. Eventually, the Guardians had grown hesitant in punishing any mortal, be they human or faunus, for disrupting the peace of Vastel. The Light Guardian grew weary of this and informed her fellow Guardians of the coming danger that would stem from their soft-heartedness for the mortals. The Guardians should be punishing the mortals for any sins they commit, especially when it endangers the peace they had created."_

 _The Dark Guardian reassured the Light Guardian by working with her to create special mortal factions that preserve the peace of Vastel on their behalf by spreading the teachings of the Guardians to naïve mortals. For the Dark Guardian, he created the Therions while the Light Guardian created the Pretorius._

 _"But that didn't stop the fire that would soon come. The Therions and Pretorius grew to hate each other because of the Guardians they followed being polar opposites to each other. 400 years after the birth of Vastel, this hatred brought all of Vastel into three, worldwide wars in the span of 300 years. Both humanity and faunus were too busy hurting each other over small differences to give thanks to the Guardians for the creation of Vastel. The constant fighting devastated everything the Guardians worked hard to build: the animals, the plants, the sea, and even the air."_

 _"The Light Guardian became furious when this happened. She told her fellow Guardians of the coming danger, but their love for the mortals grew too deep. Their emotions interfered with their roles as protectors of Vastel's peace. Now the harmony they worked so hard to protect was just a distant dream as their father, Vastel, tells them that the human and faunus race will end with the third war."_

 _"Desperate to save the beings they have come to love, the Guardians created creatures that came to be known as the Divine Sentinels. Special animals made to help the Guardians stop the third war before it ends humanity and faunus-kind. They also created four powerful Sentinels known as the Providence Sentinels that came to be the Guardians' most beloved companions."_

 _"Once again, the Light Guardian was not happy as the Guardians went about creating these creatures without telling her a single thing. She had already made up her mind as to the fate of the mortals of Vastel. She confronted her fellow Guardians a third time and told them to stop their futile attempts to save humanity and faunus-kind, saying that the only option is a restart of Vastel with the end of their own creations."_

 _"The Dark Guardian sensed something wrong with the Light Guardian and tried to reason with her, saying that he agreed the wars spread throughout Vastel were their fault for not punishing mortals, but he didn't believe the mortals deserve to be wiped out for their mistake. He begged for the Light Guardian to have faith in her fellow Guardians to set things right and to not give up on Vastel and its people."_

 _"The constant rebuttals from the Dark Guardian only succeeded in making the Light Guardian more frustrated. The two then began to argue about their next action while the other Guardians could only watch in fear. With each second, the Light Guardian became more and more furious until it had reached the point that she lashed out at the Dark Guardian in rage and said, "You all are no longer Guardians in my eyes!" Before she rushed off in anger."_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Residence~~_

 _~~Nighttime~~_

"…Yeah? What happens next?!"

"That's it for tonight," Said a woman with long, black hair with red outlines on the edges of each hair strand before she closed the black book she had in her hands named "The Story of the Vastel Guardians".

"Ah, it's already that late?" Asked a man with icy blue eyes and dark blue black hair. He looked at the clock, which said 7:30 p.m., "Oh my, it is that late."

"What?!" Shouted a young boy with the same black-red hair as the woman to his right and the icy-blue eyes like the man to his left.

"Don't "what" me, Jurabi," The woman said firmly as she looked at the boy, named Jurabi, with her light purple eyes, "It's time for bed."

"But Mommy—"

"Your mother is right, Jurabi," Said the man next to Jurabi, "The rest of this book will take a while to finish. We'd be up past midnight by the time we're done with the next chapter."

"But it felt like we were getting to the best part, Daddy!" Jurabi shouted, "Can't you just read a little more, please?"

"We'll continue on with the story another time," His mother said, "Right now you need your sleep so you can be up bright and early tomorrow. You wanted to see what Mrs. Argyros's palace looks like, right?"

"…Yes," Jurabi said before he made a huffy pout with his cheeks, "But I also want to hear the rest of the story."

"I'd love to hear the rest of the story too, young chap," Jurabi's dad said as he rubbed his son's spiky hair, "But I have a busy day tomorrow at my work, so I need to leave early. Just do me this favor and wait for another time, will you Champ?"

Jurabi let out a sad sigh, "Okay, Daddy."

That was when the sound of a phone ringing filled the room. Jurabi's father took out his phone and stood up and made his way to the door, "Sorry, I have to take this. Goodnight, Jurabi."

"Goodnight," Jurabi replied.

Jurabi's father accepted the call, "Yes?" He asked as a moment of silence followed, "It's ready for testing? Excellent. I'll be there early tomorrow, so I expect everyone to bring their A-game," Another moment of silence followed, "Of course. We'll deal with that issue when we get there. See you tomorrow."

"Mommy, what does Daddy do at work?" Jurabi asked as his mother started tucking him in. He just was not ready to go to bed yet, so he is willing to ask any question in order to stay up.

"Oh no you don't," His mother replied, seeing through her son, "I'll answer that question when we go to your Mommy's work first."

"No fair…" Jurabi whined.

His mother let out a giggle before giving him a sweet kiss on the forehead, "Life can be unfair sometimes, Jurabi. How we grow past that unfairness is the real question you should be asking."

"What do you mean?" Jurabi asked.

His mother didn't answer as she turned off the lamp next to Jurabi's bed. She walked over to the door before turning to Jurabi with a warm smile, "You'll find out eventually. Sweet dreams, Jurabi."

"Goodnight, Mommy," Jurabi replied as he watched his mother close the door behind her.

Jurabi then lied down on his bed, still not feeling the slightest bit tired—not after that cliffhanger to the story of the guardians. So many questions ran through his mind.

Why would the Light Guardian lose faith in the world he worked hard to create? How did the Guardians allow themselves to love mortals too much? What were the Divine Sentinels? What were the Providence Sentinels? What happened after the argument between the Light and Dark Guardian? Will they ever be friends again?

Jurabi couldn't come up with one plausible explanation in his head. All he can do now is wait until the next bedtime story session with his mother and father. He closed his eyes to sleep, excited for that night to come.

…

…

…

But that night was the last bedtime story session he had with them.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Present Day: June 27, 3000~~_

Jurabi opened his eyes again. They were black with blood red pupils and a gaze that would send fear down one's spine. Instead of finding himself in his bed as the eight-year-old he once was, he found himself in his present-day age: 18. His black hair had grown a little longer reaching the back of his neck. His dark skin remained about the same. He wore a simple, black suit, looking as if he had just been at an important event.

However, his thoughts were interrupted by the realization of where he was. He was in a heavily fortified truck with his arms cuffed by mechanical restraints and a shock collar resting on his neck while surrounded by several men with weapons resting in their arms.

"He's awake," One of the huntsmen said as he and the others kept their weapons up around Jurabi.

"So, he can sleep," Another huntsman said, "I didn't think that was possible."

"To think that Mr. Alisen, of all people, would be one of them, and he was able to hide it for this long. Now there many questions are running through my head after that press conference and the incident on the Alisen Industries rooftop before that."

"Cut the chatter!" Shouted the captain of the elite huntsman squad, "This…thing is not Jurabi Alisen. It is a potential danger to all the citizens of Vastel—perhaps even to the whole world, so look sharp!"

Jurabi only silently looked at the huntsman with an emotionless face.

"We're almost at Guardian Castle," The captain said, "Be ready to move the suspect to the elevator with quick efficiency. Men escorting from behind are to report even the slightest hint of suspicious activity."

"Yes, sir!"

Jurabi felt the fortified truck screech to a stop. The back doors opened wide to reveal to Jurabi an army of hunters and huntresses all standing in two straight lines that path up to the entrance of a tall, black and white castle.

 _~~Vastel Kingdom: Guardian Castle (Night)~~_

Two huntsmen forcefully brought Jurabi up to his feet and escorted him out of the truck. From there, Jurabi had so many eyes watching him from all sides—the front, the sides, and even his back. He could sense the small hint of fear from the hunters around him, which isn't a surprise to him considering what he is.

Jurabi was escorted into the tower all the way to an elevator once inside, the huntsman captain turned on his communicator and said, "We have Jurabi Alisen at the elevator."

A full second later, the elevator began to move up towards the top floor without the need for anyone to push a single button.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Guardian Castle Council Chamber~~_

Inside the blue-lit council chamber sat several people from all walks of life—human, faunus, male, female, they were all in that room. What separated them were the kingdoms they represented in Vastel.

 **The Kingdom of Staneia**

 _The Kingdom of Staneia, a kingdom populated by faunus to the southwest of Vastel Kingdom, is separated into two parts: The first half is a tropical land that borders the Staneia Ocean to the west while the second half is an expansive tundra known as The Frozen Wastelands. Bordering the Staneia Ocean is the capital, Webber Village, a large village that holds monthly festivals to celebrate the wedding of the Water and Ice Guardian with Shinran Cave as a popular tourist attraction. This kingdom, however, is plagued by dangerous drops in temperature due to the powerful Grimm of this region. As a result, Staneia has made killing this Grimm of the highest priority, resulting in an extremely strict caste system that follows strong bloodlines above all else. Only those who are born into the middle-class family and above are allowed the right to attend Vastel Academy from Staneia._

 **The Sokkitia Dynasty**

 _The Sokkitia Dynasty, also owned by the faunus race to the northwest of Vastel Kingdom, is a land of interconnected valleys that have strong winds blowing within. Stormy weather clouds called The Raijin Clouds, circle around the region endlessly barraging it with lightning strikes. It is said that these clouds are caused by the Zenith Grimm living in the region. The capital, Ouro Town, is a city of tall cliffs connected together by steel bridges provided by the Kingdom of Vulna. Woods Town possessed an irreplaceable knowledge of aura and semblances due to the people's unnatural connection to spirits. North of Woods Town is a mysterious, airborne temple named the Gale Force Temple. No one knows where this temple came from and how it remains in the air, but people say that it may have been the resting place of the Air and Thunder Guardian. To the southeast is an ancient and forgotten ruined ares._

 **The Igarus Dynasty**

 _The Igarus Dynasty is a human-populated kingdom southeast of Vastel Kingdom. It is a sacred land blessed by the Light and Earth Guardians long ago. Because of the blessing of the Guardians, the land has always flourished with bountiful life. The Pretorius family, being devout followers of the Light Guardian, protect this land from enemies who seek to defile it. The capital, Pretorius Domain, lies in the far southeastern area of Igarus with all paths to it surrounded by the Igarus Forest. To the north of this forest is the Cathedral of Sacred Light, an ancient temple where, according to the Pretorius family, is where the Light Guardian rests._

 **The Kingdom of Vulna**

 _The Kingdom of Vulna, the land that represents the Dark and Fire Guardian entrusted to humanity after the disappearance of the Therion bloodline. It is located northeast of Vastel Kingdom and is the most scientifically and technologically advanced kingdom in Vastel. It relies mostly on coal mined from Ragnarök Mountain to produce its energy. Its capital, Argyros City, is located at the center of the land far away from Ragnarök Mountain to the far northeast. To the northwest is the Chasm of Black Souls, where all are forbidden from entering due to no one entering and ever returning from that chasm._

 **Vastel Kingdom**

 _The heart of Vastel. A neutral kingdom that mediates between the two races of Vastel: Human and Faunus and is where meetings between the two races are held and discussed. The main capital, Guardian Castle is also home to Vastel Academy, a large academy that trains and houses Vastel's hunters and elites to become the sword and shield of humanity against the growing Grimm threat. In exchange for powerful hunters to protect the four regions, the four kingdoms provide Vastel Kingdom with the necessities to keep operating. Vulna provides the technology and weapons, Igarus provides the food from its lands, Staneia provides hunters with strong potential from powerful bloodlines, and Sokkitia provides advanced knowledge of aura and semblances._

The Vastel Council is composed of the leaders of each of the four kingdoms in Vastel. Their authority is higher than the regular council and governs their respective kingdoms. Right now, the council is discussing the events that unfolded a few days ago.

"To think that all this time the Kingdom of Vulna would house such a dangerous monster," Said a Staneian councilwoman.

"And it is more suspicious that this monster turned out to be the son of Alisen Industries's former and deceased owner," Added a Sokkitian councilman as he turned to the council of Vulna, "No one would have found him suspicious at all."

"I assure you, council men and women of Sokkitia and Staneia," Said a councilman of Vulna, "Argyros City has advanced detection sensors spread throughout the city. Even though the sensors picked up and registered Mr. Alisen as one of those monsters, the soldiers simply took it as an error in the machines."

"That is quite concerning hearing that from the most advanced kingdom in Vastel," Said a council woman of the Sokkitia dynasty group, "If a creature like Mr. Alisen is able to easily slip past your defenses this easily, imagine how our own kingdoms would fare."

"It isn't even possible for a monster like Alisen to even exist," Said the councilman of Igarus, "We don't even know how a human can be turned into one of them and still function like a human being."

"Perhaps this was all a lie to pull the dying Alisen Industries's reputation from the grave," Laughed a Staneian councilman, "Ah, you humans never cease to amuse us with your stupidity."

"Have you any respect?!" Shouted a Vulna councilman, "Do you even realize what kingdom you are insulting?! If it weren't for us, all of humanity would have been under Grimm rule."

"Need we remind you all about how the Twilight Syndicate got their hands on Alisen Industries's weapons?" Asked a faunus council man from Sokkitian, "Before he vanished months ago, Mr. Alisen allowed those weapons to fall into the hands of those human terrorists. He even fired one of his best workers just because they were faunus. It is clear to us faunus that Mr. Alisen is a threat to our very way of life. If you ask me, we should court-martial him here and now."

"But let's not forget about the incident ten years ago that cost us the life of both a heroic huntress and the man responsible for the weapons hunters use to defend all of Vastel from the Grimm," Shouted an Vulna councilman, "And on top of that, Mr. Alisen was an eight year old boy when he saw his father murdered before his own eyes, and when he couldn't even say goodbye to his mother who vanished while fighting an Zenith Grimm! That whole incident, which scarred the boy and changed him into what he is now, was caused by none other than the faunus terrorist group, Eclipse! We suggest you get the racism of your kind checked first before you all start criticizing others!"

At that moment, the council chamber erupted as almost everyone stood up from their seats and began screaming at each other in rage.

"ORDER!" Shouted the voice of a man as he slammed a black cane onto the ground creating a loud and powerful shockwave that caused the room to shake a little and the councilmen and women to cease their yelling.

They all turned to see a middle-aged man wearing a hunter's outfit fitted only for those of the highest rank. The man was well fit and had an intimidation factor within his blind eyes—the left eye having a deep scar. In his hand was a long, black stick that he uses for guidance. Next to him were four other people, three men (two of which were faunus) and one human female.

Once he is certain that silence is all that he can hear, the blind man continued forward to his seat in the middle, as did the other people who entered with him follow into their respective seats.

"Mr. Alisen will arrive shortly," The man said, "This will be a discussion about the issue at hand and the source of it, not about who is right."

"On behalf of faunus kind, we humbly apologize, King Elcrest," Said a faunus councilwoman from Staneia.

"And on behalf of humanity, we also apologize for our misconduct," Said a human councilman from Vulna.

"Be seated," The man named Elcrest said, "I did not ask for your apologies. You all should know better than resort to screaming at each other just because someone said something you didn't like."

Everyone remained silent before they sat down at their chairs.

"Now then, Jurabi Alisen is almost here," Elcrest said, "No one is to pass judgment until he explains his story."

The elevator arrived at the council chambers and Jurabi walked a few steps out before looking around at all the council members of all different races and kingdoms in one room. The elite huntsmen squad led him to the very center of the chamber where all can see him.

Jurabi looked up to where Elcrest and the other four council members at his side sat. One of them was familiar to Jurabi.

A tall, auburn-haired woman with purple eyes and whose hair was tied into a ponytail over her left shoulder. She wore a robe that had the fire symbol on it's chest area.

"Jurabi Alisen," Said the male faunus council man wearing a blue robe that had a water symbol on it, "Welcome to the Guardian Castle."

"So, this is where the Council of Vastel holds its meetings," Jurabi said.

"Yes, and this particular meeting has all four representatives of the four kingdoms and His Majesty himself present," Said the black-haired female human councilwoman, "I'm sure you are aware what that reason is."

"Yes, I am well aware," Jurabi said.

Only the sound of mumbling among the other council members could be heard throughout the room after Jurabi said that.

"So, he really believes what he says."

"I'm shocked to hear that."

"Do you think it's all a prank?"

"No way. To pull a prank that could draw the attention of the King himself is just asking for life in prison."

"But this is the son of that famous hunter lady who had next to no history. Perhaps unpredictability runs in the family."

"ORDER!" King Elcrest shouted, slamming his stick onto the ground again creating a shockwave.

Surprisingly, Jurabi was unfazed by this shock-wave.

"This shockwave…" Jurabi said, finding this power familiar somehow despite never meeting King Elcrest before.

"Jurabi Alisen, it was quite bold of you to make that announcement you made at your press conference," Elcrest said, "And not long after the incident on your company's rooftop."

"It's all true, Your Majesty," Jurabi said.

"All I hear are lies," Said the male faunus wearing the robe with the water symbol, "We can't seriously believe that a…creature like this has been living in Vulna for this long!"

"This "creature" has a name, Chief Webber," Said the woman in the fire robe, "I suggest you treat him with respect."

"You know this boy, Chief Argyros?" Asked a faunus councilman wearing a robe that bears the air symbol.

"I do," The woman named Argyros said, "His mother, Dana Alisen, was the top rank huntress and professor at Vastel Academy, and his father, Nitorin Alisen, was the founder of Alisen Industries who manufactured weapons that hunters use. Dana took this young man to meet me in my palace one day. He was so little and so innocent back then…"

"But he has changed, as you can obviously see," Said the male faunus council member with the air symbol.

"If you want to kill me, please get it over with," Jurabi said, "As you have said, I changed for the worse. I am a threat to all of Vastel now."

"See?" The faunus council man with the water robe named Webber said, "It's asking for death, so why should we even hesitate to grant it its wish."

"No one is going to kill you, Jurabi," Argyros said, "We still have not come to an agreement yet."

"Chief Argyros, careful with what words you use," Elcrest said, finding Argyros to be too rash with her emotions, "I told you not to pass judgment until we get the full story."

Argyros said no more, silently cursing at the fact she must put orders over Jurabi's well-being.

"He's right," Jurabi said, "You all are people whose sworn duty is to protect all of Vastel. So, do you even understand the weight of this situation, Chief Argyros? Some might call you a traitor for uttering those words."

"I wouldn't be able to face your parents again if I ever let any harm come to you, Jurabi," Argyros said.

"Argyros, why are you showing compassion to this…Grimm?" Asked the councilman wearing an earth robe, "We don't even know if it can comprehend emotion at this point. It is a creature of pure darkness, just like the Dark Guardian. To the Pretorious family, this is a major threat regardless of who this Grimm in front of is...or was, depending on what you believe."

"I still believe this is the same Jurabi from ten years ago," Argyros said, "Jurabi is far from being a—"

"Ha, Argyros has gone mad!" Webber said as he laughed, "She now pities the greatest threat to Vastel!"

"Chief Webber, watch your tongue," Elcrest said before turning to Argyros, "Chief Argyros, watch your emotions. Now is not the time to be pointing out issues that should have already been handled."

"…Yes, Your Majesty," Both Webber and Argyros said.

"Now, let us hear the boy's explanation," Elcrest said.

"Yes, I'd like to hear it from this thing's lips as well," The air council faunus agreed, "We of the Woods family believe in fairness above all else. We will give our judgement after Mr. Alisen's story."

"Jurabi Alisen, your fate will be decided once we hear the truth from your side," Elcrest said, "You are to give us the truth and nothing but the truth. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Jurabi said with a nod.

"First question," Elcrest said, "How and when did you obtain this power of yours…and how are you still alive, if you really are alive, that is?"

"My power?" Jurabi asked, looking at his restraints, "I don't know how I survived. One day I was a human…the next…" He stopped for a second before saying, "Ten years ago…that's when Mom and Dad were killed. The pain from losing them was pure agony that made me lose all of my positive emotions. All I feel are negative ones like anger and hate."

"Jurabi…" Argyros said, feeling awful from hearing that everything that happened to this once happy boy was true.

"That is what happened to me, members of the Vastel Council," Jurabi said, "Here is the story of how I lost my humanity when I was but a little boy, and how now I am one of mankind's greatest threats."

…

…

…

"A Zenith Grimm."

* * *

 **Therion Arc: Chp 1. The Zenith Grimm**

 **Opening Song: "End of Day" from Honkai Impact 3rd**

 **Jurabi: Heeeeeeeeellooooooooo~! This is Jurabi Therion bringing you my first ever RWBY story. I am honestly shocked that I am doing this so suddenly. This idea of a fic came into my mind while I was in college and I really doubted I would go for it, but then something just came over me and I just started writing.**

 **So originally, this was a Submit Your OC fic (SYOC). But this is a remake chapter of the first chapter and now all of it is closed. So right now you get to enjoy the chapters that I make from now on with the characters submitted to me.  
**

 **Anyways, that's about as much as I can say for this chapter. If you find yourself interested in this story, please let me know in the reviews and leave a favorite and a follow** **and also join me on my own discord server to have a nice chat. Thank you very much for reading. See you next chapter~!**

 **Discord: (h) (t) (t) (p) (s) : / / discord . gg / yds39Vc**


	2. Therion Arc Chp 2: Wish of the Huntress

**Therion Arc Chp. 2: Wish of the Huntress**

 _~~Alisen Residence: Morning~~_

 _~~10 Years ago: December 13, 2990~~_

"Jurabi! Wake up!" Screamed a female voice.

"Ngh…ten more minutes…" Jurabi muttered in his sleep.

"I said…Wake! Up!"

A full second later, Jurabi was forced awake by a sudden force hitting his body feeling like someone was pouncing on top of him.

"Ow!" Jurabi screamed, forcing his eyes open to see a girl with hair similar in color to his, tied into twin, braided ponytails and dark brown eyes like his mother's. The boy frowned at the sight of this girl and let out a groan, "Ugh…Elise!" He shouted, still feeling half asleep, "You know I hate it when you wake me up like this!"

"That just makes me want to do it even more, Jurabi," Elise said with a playful smirk, "Now get up. You were supposed to wake up 20 minutes ago."

"Okay…I'm up," Jurabi groaned as he forced his body up into a sitting position.

"This is what happens when you stay up so late," Elise said, jumping off of the bed to move to the door, "Mom cooked breakfast for us, so hurry up."

"Alright," Jurabi groaned as he watched Elise leave his room.

Elise Alisen is Jurabi's older sister who always made a habit of poking fun at Jurabi's infatuation with technology and weapons. The age gap between the two is enough so that they are unable to attend the same middle school at the same time, since Elise will be going to high school as a freshman while Jurabi moves from elementary school to middle school. Even though these two kids always get into fights whenever one makes fun of the other, Elise has always been the older sister Jurabi needed in his life.

After getting dressed in his casual clothing, Jurabi walked downstairs into the kitchen to see his breakfast waiting on the table.

His mother, Dana Alisen, was at the sink washing the pans she used to cook breakfast. She wore a white t-shirt under a black combat jacket with black shorts. From her knees down to her black shoes were black knee guards.

The woman turned to her son and let out a smirk, "So you're finally up, Mr. Alisen," Dana said.

"No thanks to Elise," Jurabi said with a huff.

"It's still funny that I always need your sister to roughhouse you in order to wake you up," Dana said.

"Well can you get her to stop, Mommy?!" Jurabi shouted in frustration after he sat down at the table.

"I can if only you learn to wake up at the time you are told to," Dana said, "You're going to be a middle school freshman, after all."

"Yeah, it's about time you started having an adult mentality, Little Bullet~!" Elise said, letting out a snarky giggle.

"I told you to stop calling me that!" Jurabi shouted at her angrily, "You're no different from me, Miss Grimm Fangirl!"

"I am not a Grimm Fangirl!" Elise shouted back at her younger brother, "Just because their body structure and behavioral instincts interest me doesn't mean I like them!"

"You do like them!" Jurabi shouted.

"Do not!"

"Do to!"

"Little Snot!"

"Big Airhead!"

"Both of you stop this instant!" Dana shouted, getting her children's attention real quick. She shot a glare at both of her children, "I thought I told you both that there would be NO FIGHTING in this house!"

"She started it!" Jurabi shouted, pointing at his sister.

"And who here is gonna finish it, huh?" Dana asked, "Because you definitely don't want it to be me!" She saw her children flinch when she said that with such a chilling tone and continued, "Now apologize to each other and let that be the last fight I see you two do."

Jurabi and Elise remained quiet for a few seconds before they looked at each other in the eyes.

Elise then let out a sigh of defeat, "I'm sorry, Jurabi. I shouldn't have called you that name."

"…I'm sorry too, Elise," Jurabi said, "I won't call you an airhead or a fangirl again."

"Good," Dana said, her glare turning into a happy, sweet smile that still gave off a chilly vibe, "Now, let's finish up our breakfast, shall we?"

As the Alisens ate their breakfast, Jurabi and Elise occasionally shot quick glares at one another. Although the Alisen family was stable, it sometimes has its chaotic moments just like the recent skirmish that usually ends with Dana being angry at the kids, forcing them to stop fighting less they incur their mother's wrath. Nitorin was the only "normal" one in this family since he's never one to lose his temper quickly and is always too engrossed in his weapon craft to pay attention, causing either Jurabi or Elise to drag him out of his own world. But with a description like that, Nitorin might not be as normal as he seems.

After finishing their breakfast, Jurabi and Dana left their home and headed to Argyros Palace. Elise stayed because she had plans to meet with her school friends at Argyros Park. Jurabi and Dana both went through the streets of Argyros City by car.

Argyros City, the capital of Vulna, is widely known for Alisen Industries, the manufacturer of the weapons that hunters and huntresses of Vastel Academy use to fight and kill Grimm all other kinds of machinery like aircraft and tanks. The other noteworthy area in Argyros City is a café named Bao's Cafe, a peaceful, popular spot where hunters and civilians can sit down for a nice, reasonably-priced meal.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Argyros Palace~~_

"And here we are," Dana said as she and Jurabi exited the car to get a view of a tall building that appeared to be a palace, "Argyros Palace."

"Wait, you're working here? At Auntie Hinata's home?!" Jurabi asked, "Aren't we not allowed to go in, Mommy?"

"Oh, we don't need to worry about that," Dana said as they began walking through a gate being guarded by two hunters. Dana showed them her identification and they allowed her and Jurabi in the palace without trouble, "Like I said, I'm working in this palace temporarily. My job is to watch over this palace so the bad guys don't do bad things in here."

"Wow! So, you can come and go here whenever you want because you're a hunter?!" Jurabi asked, his eyes beaming up in excitement as they make their way through the palace hallways.

"Yes, but I wouldn't say I can come and go whenever I want," Dana said, holding onto Jurabi's hand, "Let's just say that this is an important job that will require me to be here. Vastel Academy is counting on me to see this mission through."

"Vastel Academy is where you learned to be so strong, right?" Jurabi asked.

"That's right. Vastel Academy isn't your average school," Dana explained, "Hunters and huntresses are trained to pledge their lives to keep humanity and faunus safe from the bad Grimm. They are also taught everything about strategy, aura, dust, and even about the Grimm."

"This is where you learned to be as strong as you are?" Nathan asked, his eyes beaming up in excitement.

"But I thought you guys just learn to fight," Jurabi said.

"There is more to fighting Grimm than just swinging your weapon at them," Dana explained, "You remember Elise saying she wanted to study them more and find out their behavioral patterns, right?" She asked as Jurabi nodded in response, "Well, Grimm study is also one of the courses hunters need to take along with combat classes."

"Oh, I see," Jurabi said, "Can I become a hunter with you, Mommy?"

"Jurabi, we already had this discussion," Dana said, looking at her son, "By the time you grow up, you won't need to become a hunter."

"Again, with this?" Jurabi asked, "I still don't understand what you mean by that. You're talking like the Grimm are just going to vanish or something."

"Who knows? Perhaps the Grimm will just vanish," Dana said with a giggle, "Either way, you should think of another dream aside from being a hunter."

As they walked through the palace hallways, Jurabi could see a handful of hunters and huntresses getting ready for their mission in Argyros City. Seeing the sight of the weapons in some of the hunters' hands made Jurabi's face bright up in awe.

"Look at all those weapons!" Jurabi shouted in excitement, "They all look so cool!"

"Ah yes, your father is the one who made those weapons for us," Dana explained.

"Wait, Daddy makes those things?!" Jurabi asked, "I thought he was just passing time by building random stuff."

"Hahaha, honestly that's what I first thought he was doing," Dana said, "But no, everything Daddy builds is important to us hunters. It's his job to build weapons and other machines that could help us out on the battlefield. We would be in big trouble against the big bad Grimm if it weren't for him."

"Do you think I can make weapons as amazing as those?" Jurabi asked.

"I'm sure you can, Jurabi," Dana said, "You already did an amazing job at your school's science fair. I have no doubt that you can make the best hunter weapon that no one has ever seen before."

"When you say something like that, I have to do my best," Jurabi said, letting out an embarrassed but happy grin.

"So, how about we go meet Auntie Hinata?" Dana said as she led Jurabi to an open elevator. She pushed the button to the top floor and the elevator began to move.

The elevator later arrived at the top floor and they arrived at a spacious throne room.

Sitting at the throne was a young woman with auburn hair tied into a ponytail over her left shoulder and purple eyes looking at a pile of papers at her lap with a guard at her side.

"Good morning, Chief Argyros," Dana called out to the woman, standing at attention.

"Hm?" The woman named Argyros looked up and was surprised to see Dana and Jurabi in front of her, "Dana?! They sent you? Aren't you supposed to be on holiday vacation? And why is Jurabi here with you?"

"My apologies for not notifying you about my visit, Chief," Dana said, "The order was sudden as well, but I'm happy for the chance to see you and my family again."

"Then by all means, make yourself comfortable," Argyros said, "And you don't need to be formal around me, Dana."

"Hi, Auntie Hinata!" Jurabi shouted, waving to Argyros.

"Hi, Jurabi," Hinata replied before she stood up from her throne, "My goodness you're growing taller and taller. Must be eating those veggies like you're told to."

"Eek, no!" Jurabi shouted, "Those broccoli Daddy cooks are nasty!"

"Hahaha, I feel the same way as you, but trust me, you'll grow to like them the more you eat them," Hinata said, rubbing Jurabi's head.

"Don't worry, Jurabi and I will have a talk about eating what is given to you," Dana said, with a bone-chilling smile.

"O-oh no…" Jurabi said, sweating a little.

"Just be careful with your son, Dana," Hinata said, "I can't cuddle him if he's badly damaged."

"Is your family here, by the way?" Dana asked.

"Not at the moment," Hinata said, "My husband took Seraph, Lily, and Rayleigh out training in the mountains. I doubt they'll be back until next week."

"Aw…" Jurabi whined as his gaze went to the ground, "Why do those three get to be hunters but not me, Mommy?!"

"Huh, Jurabi isn't going to be a hunter?" Hinata asked.

"Of course not," Dana said, "Not everyone can just be a hunter if they want to. Besides, you are far too young to be having those thoughts."

"It seems that your mother isn't open to the idea of you being a hunter, Jurabi," Hinata pointed up, "Neither my husband nor I had a problem when Seraph and Lily asked us the same."

"Hinata!" Dana said, wishing her friend hadn't said that.

"Really, Mommy?" Jurabi asked.

Dana looked at Jurabi's hurt eyes and crouched down to be at eye level with him, "I know it's not fair, but I have my reasons. I'll explain myself when we have the time, okay?"

"…Okay," Jurabi replied.

"Whether you become a hunter or not doesn't change who you are, Jurabi," Hinata reassured, "If you wish to help those in need, being a member of the Argyros Defense Force doesn't sound like a bad alternative."

"Hmm…maybe," Jurabi said, "But will I really make a difference by doing that?"

"You'll be protecting this city and it's people," Hinata said, "I know deep down you wish to protect everyone, but trying to do that will only result in you protecting no one."

"What do you mean by that?" Jurabi asked.

"...If you need to ask for clarification, then you are ready for an answer to that yet," Hinata replied.

"Oh…" Jurabi said.

"But the day may come that you will understand," Hinata said.

"Why do these adults always say that to me?" Jurabi thought to himself.

"Being a hunter is a heavy responsibility and requires incredible skill and strength," Hinata explained, "Take your mother for example. No one could have pulled off what she did at the Ragnarök Mountain Crisis five years ago."

"Come now, Hinata," Dana said, rubbing the back of her head, modestly smiling, "I was only doing my job."

"Hinata shook his head in disagreement before saying, "I wouldn't call killing ten thousand Grimm to save millions a simple job."

"Ten thousand Grimm?" Jurabi asked.

"Your mother never told you?" Hinata asked, "Five years ago, Ragnarok Mountain turned into an active volcano, causing the Grimm in that area to awaken and swarm throughout Vulna. An estimated ten thousand Grimm were on their way to Argyros city while most of the hunters were on another mission except for your mother. She took on every single one of this Grimm on her own that day, earning her the title as one of Argyros's strongest hunters."

"Wow!" Jurabi shouted, "You really did that, Mom?! No lie?!"

"It's no lie," Hinata said, "You mother is a one-of-a-kind huntress. Argyros City…no…all of Vastel is lucky to have her."

"Oh stop," Dana said, blushing bashfully, "You're making me blush, Hinata. In any case, I should be going to my guard post now. I'm sorry for taking your time."

"It's no trouble at all," Hinata said before turning to Jurabi, "And I'll be sure to tell Seraph and Lily that you were here, Jurabi."

"Okay, thank you so much, Auntie," Jurabi said, as he left the office with his mother through the elevator they came in.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~5th Floor~~_

 _~~5 Hours Later (Evening)~~_

For the next five hours, Dana took Jurabi on a long tour around the palace even though the tour path is actually her patrol path through the palace assigned to her. Jurabi saw all kinds of rooms and even a big view of Argyros City with the bright sun sitting high in the sky. In the distance, they could see a huge mountain.

"Wow…it's so pretty," Jurabi said, in complete awe at the beauty of his home with the clear blue skies.

"It is," Dana said, leaning against the handrail, "When I was a teenager attending Vastel Academy, there was this amazing spot I used to go to all the time. Whenever classes were over, my team and I would have lunch at that spot to watch a wonder view like this one."

"You had a team of hunters?" Jurabi asked.

"Yes. In fact, I was the leader of that team," Dana said, "There were four of us. Together, we soon became the unstoppable team that never suffered a single casualty or failure on our missions. Not a single Grimm stood a chance against us…"

"Wow, that's so cool!" Jurabi shouted, feeling the adrenaline of excitement from hearing his mother's story.

"…well…all except one," The woman finished.

"Huh?" Jurabi asked in confusion, "A Grimm managed to beat you and your team? Was it really strong?"

"Strong doesn't even begin to describe it," Dana said before she looked at her son with a serious face, "You wanted to know why I don't wish for you to be a hunter, right?"

"Yeah, I want to be a hunter, Mommy," Jurabi said, "I just don't know why you won't let me."

"Come on, I'll show you at the library here," Dana said as she took Jurabi's hand and led him to the palace library where people can go to research information on the Grimm or the history of the four Vastel kingdoms.

Jurabi took a seat at one of the tables while Dana searched through a book aisle that contained information on the Grimm. One of them, a thick, green book, immediately caught her attention. She grabbed it and returned to the table Jurabi sat at and turned to a certain page that had a drawn picture of four Grimm monsters on it.

Dana pointed at a Grimm that had the appearance of a thin, black dragon with white horns on the back of its head, red wings, and a thin, spiky tail. Around the dragon were what looked to be black flames that came from its mouth.

"Whoa…" Jurabi was in awe of the picture he was looking at. Even though it was only a drawing, it was able to send a clear message of power because of the way the artist colored the Grimm and the area around it with a blood red and grim black shade.

"This is the Grimm that my team and I lost against," Dana said, "We call it The Shadow Dragon "Ragnarök"."

"Ragnarök?" Jurabi asked.

"Yes," Dana said as she lied back a little on the chair she sat on and stared up at the ceiling in remorse, "Back then, I was so reckless. When I first heard of the existence of that Grimm, I was excited. I wanted to defeat and kill it so badly…but I was a fool."

"Huh? Why?" Jurabi asked, looking at his mother and immediately feeling that something was wrong as he saw tears forming in her eyes.

"That monster…no…monster doesn't even describe this Grimm," Dana continued, "My team and I didn't even last a few minutes against it and we were the most experienced in Vastel Academy at the time."

"It's that strong?" Jurabi asked, shocked to hear that his mother, the woman who can beat 10,000 Grimm without help, lost against this one Grimm with help."

"Not a single hunter in Vulna or all of Vastel has ever been able to kill Ragnarök," Dana said.

"No one?" Jurabi asked.

Dana shook her head, "And it doesn't stop there. Throughout the four kingdoms of Vastel, there are four special Grimm that hold extraordinary powers—one in each kingdom. Take a look in the book."

Jurabi did just that and looked at the page that had the Grimm Dragon "Ragnarök" on it. The page to the left of the information page had an introduction called "Zenith Grimm."

 **~~Zenith Grimm~~**

 _"Zenith Grimm" is a name given to rare Grimm proven to have been around since the beginning of Vastel. These Grimm have never been killed by a single hunter or huntress, due to their destructive power and ability to disable aura barriers and semblances through unknown means. Zenith Grimm is far different and more dangerous than regular Grimm due to their abnormal ability to adapt and formulate a strategy based on the opponent they fight._

 **HUNTERS AND HUNTRESSES ARE ADVISED TO NOT ENGAGE THE ZENITH GRIMM IF SEEN ON THE FIELD!**

 **~~The Ocean Fox: Lavetia~~**

 _"The Ocean Fox." A giant, white, fox-shark hybrid Grimm that lurks in the dark ocean canyons and ruins deep in Staneia Ocean. A crafty and cunning Grimm that is able to outsmart even the most intelligent hunters. Because it can withstand the sheer cold of the Frozen Wastelands, it can be safely stated that Laventia can affect the ocean currents while underwater._

 **~~The Sheercold Giant: Zerena~~**

 _A giant polar bear that patrols the unreachable parts of the Frozen Wastelands. It's sheer power can crack the ground beneath it along with its ability to control the temperature of the cold at will. It is theorized that Zerena may be the cause of the temperature changes that plague Staneia to this day, making it a high priority target for the people of Staneia._

 **~~The King of Lightning: Momasu~~**

 _"The King of Lightning'' Momasu. One of the seven Zenith Grimm. It prowls around the forgotten ruins that were once a peaceful city of the people who follow the Air Guardian. This Zenith Grimm has a similar form of a majestic lion with sharp teeth that can puncture through hunters and prey. Travels from the air have been forbidden due to this Zenith Grimm being the cause of the endless thunder clouds that loom all over Sokkitia. Unlike its fellow Zenith Grimm, Momasu does not hesitate to launch an attack on the first human or faunus it sees and does not relent until its victim is dead. Only one woman, Indra Kyanos, has survived an encounter with this Zenith Grimm and reported it capable of creating harsh winds with its roar and is able to summon lightning. Hunters are advised to not travel into its lair less you incur the wrath of the King of Lightning._

 **~~The Wind Master: Istana~~**

 _A Zenith Grimm with the appearance of a Griffon, a creature possessing the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. An extremely dangerous Zenith with full control of the air currents and the sky. Researchers speculate that the Gale Force Temple is Istana's home, correlating the Grimm to the Air Guardian._

 **~~The Burning Star Phoenix: Solaris~~**

 _"The Bright Star Phoenix." A bird-like Grimm living in Igarus that holds the appearance of the mythical Phoenix. It is unknown whether this Grimm has the power of immortality as the legends of the phoenix suggest, but it is theorized that this Grimm is associated with fire along with the rising of the sun. Out of the four Zenith Grimm, Solaris is the most rarely seen or attacked by hunters due to its elusive nature. Hunters are to exercise extreme caution when encountering this Grimm on the field._

 **~~The Earth Serpent: Goral~~**

 _A giant, brown, snake-like Grimm that lurks in the dark canyons and ruins deep in the Igarus Canyon. This Grimm possesses two, thick horns with a large fur coat symbolizing it's old age. It can withstand the intense heat of the world's mantle and has the power to cause unnatural earthquakes. No hunter has ever been able launch an assault on this Grimm due to its habitat being out of reach deep in the world's mantle._

 **~~The Shadow Dragon: Ragnarok~~**

 _"The Shadow Dragon" Ragnarok. One of the four Zenith Grimms in Vastel that possess destructive power. Ragnarok is a fell dragon Grimm that dates back to the Vastel Wars 400 years ago. No hunter, other than Dana Alisen, Ken Volas, and Aoife Chanadani who had sought to challenge this Grimm, had returned to tell the tale. Ragnarok has been said to never be in one habitat for too long, although it has never once left the Kingdom of Vulna. This dragon Grimm is theorized to be related to The Bright Star Phoenix, Solaris, and the Guardian of Darkness. Beware this Grimm's black flames for they have been reported to never die out and burn any and everything in its bath until Ragnarok is out of range of the corpse._

"Whoa…" Jurabi said in awe as he looked at the pictures of each Zenith Grimm, "They all look so cool!"

Dana was surprised at Jurabi's reaction before realizing that he is a child and said, "Y-yeah, they sure do."

"Too bad I don't understand most of the hard words this book is saying," Jurabi said.

"You'll understand when you're older, Jurabi," Dana said as she put the book back onto the shelf she found it on.

"You always say that, Mommy!" Jurabi shouted with a pout, "When will you give me a real answer to my questions?"

"Do I?" Dana asked, "Oh sorry, I guess…part of me doesn't want you to know everything. I promise you the answers will come with time. You must be patient. I didn't get all the answers I wanted when I was your age too, so you're not alone in how you're feeling."

"…Is your job hard, Mommy?" Jurabi asked.

"I say it depends on the person," Dana said, "Why do you ask?"

"Well…sometimes you come home sad after work and Daddy always has to cheer you up," Jurabi said worriedly, "Is someone hurting your feelings or bullying you?"

Dana let out a smile. For a second, she looked as though she was wiping her eyes to Jurabi before she let out a giggle, "Thank you for your concern for me, dear, but Mommy's alright. Let's just say bad things tend to happen as a hunter and…"

"…And?" Jurabi asked.

"Why don't we go home now?" Dana asked, suddenly shifting the conversation to something else, "I am a bit hungry, aren't you?"

Jurabi found it weird that his mother dodged his question like that, but he didn't quite understand why, being a little kid and all. The boy went along with it and said he would like to go home as well.

As he and his mother left Argyros Palace, Jurabi couldn't help but be excited at the idea of going there and becoming a huntress. He's learned so many interesting things from Chief Argyros to the Zenith Grimm that roam the four kingdoms. The boy couldn't stop smiling at the idea of meeting one of the Zenith Grimm—especially Ragnarok.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Industries Testing Lab~~_

 _~~Nighttime~~_

Jurabi's father, Nitorin, sat in a testing lab with his crew of engineers and scientists examining two weapons that were on display in a different testing room. There was only one scientist in the room examining the weapons and holding them in his hands, which had protective gear on them. Both weapons had long, red blades attached to each hilt making the weapon appear to be twin daggers. Inside the weapons were revolvers full of dust.

"Alright, let's give this another try," Nitorin ordered, "Begin the test again on weapon number 82495—this time increase energy output to 90 percent."

"Yes sir," Said one of the scientists as they began the testing process once more.

The twin katanas began to glow red as the revolvers spun rapidly before the blades of the daggers started turning into black flames.

Everyone looked closely in anticipation, having high hopes of success this time; however, the flames died down again just like they did in the previous tests.

"Another test failure, Mr. Alisen."

"Damnit!" Nitorin shouted in frustration, "And we set it at the highest energy output we could handle! What more do those things want?!"

"I don't think it's the power that's the problem, sir," Said a scientist, "It might be that the user just isn't compatible to use the weapon."

"That may be the case," Nitorin said, "But I was hoping to fully complete testing before we asked a hunter to hold this weapon."

"Pardon me sir," Said a scientist who was a faunus woman with red hair with goat horns wearing a lab coat and black glasses, "I know we've come this far, but are we sure this weapon won't have any negative side effects?"

"I am aware of the risks involved with this project, Dr. Vongarus," Nitorin said, "I wouldn't have expended ten years worth of time and resources if I didn't believe we can use the Zenith Grimm's talons to their full potential."

"Hard at work again, Nitorin?" Asked a male voice.

Jurabi's father, Nitorin, turned around to see a middle-aged man with blue hair that was slicked back wearing a black business suit.

"That's it for tonight, everyone. You're free to go home," Nitorin said to his team, hearing a silent yes from one of the tired workers. Nitorin then walked over to the man with a half-assed smile, "Maybe you can take a guess, Gerald."

"Heheh, well from where I was standing, you seem to be in a pickle with your new project, as usual," The man named Gerald said.

"More like frustrated," Nitorin said, "I need some fresh air right now."

"Then let's make a quick stop before you head home, shall we?" Gerald asked.

"I don't know, I really have to get home," Nitorin said, "I've overworked myself as is."

"I know, but I really need to speak to you about something," Gerald said with a whisper, "It can't wait until tomorrow."

Nitorin looked at Gerald before he nodded, "Alright," He turned to the faunus woman scientist, "Dr. Vongarus, would you mind sending my report to the Vastel Council for me. Here's the keys to my office," He gave her a key.

"Yes sir," The woman named Rachel Vongarus said.

As they both watched Rachel leave the test room, there was a moment of silence.

"So where are we going, Gerald?" Nitorin asked, finding Gerald's silence odd.

Gerald turned to Nitorin with a smile, "You know well where we're going."

"Ah…the usual place," Nitorin said with a similar smile as he and Gerald left the Alisen Industries Testing Laboratory.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Bao's Cafe~~_

The two went to Bao's café for their lunch break. The café owner, Bao Ludgen, was a young man with lightly tanned skin, sky blue eyes, and chocolate brown hair. His hair is shaved on the sides of his head, and spiked up in the front. His eyes were an almond shape with deep blue eyes. He's built rather well, standing around 6'3, his body being rather lean and without much muscle. As the café owner, he wears a blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up a little. He'll have on a black vest on top with golden buttons and an orange tie down the middle. His pants will be black suit pants and a black apron will be around his neck and covering his front.

"Ah, Mr. Alisen and Mr. Achilles. Welcome back," Bao said to the two, referring to Gerald by his last name Achilles, as they entered his café, "The usual?"

"Oh, not for me. Just tea would be nice," Nitorin said as he and Gerald sat down at the café booth that had a nice window view of the Argyros streets.

"So, tell me what the issue is this time, Nitorin," Gerald said, concerned about the progress on Nitorin's new project.

Nitorin let out an exhausted sigh, "It seems that the weapons require more power than even we have. We put everything we had into it and we still couldn't recreate the Ragnarök's black flames."

"Sounds like we'll need a new power source then," Gerald said.

"But we've tried everything we could: Aura, Semblances, and just about every stable element in the periodic table," Nitorin said, "Unstable elements are much too risky because they could trigger the worst-case scenario of the user turning into a Grimm."

"Come on, Nitorin. Please tell me there's an option we can take," Gerald said.

"Well…before you came in, Dr. Vongarus advised us to get a strong hunter with a good compatibility," Nitorin explained, "She didn't want to tell me directly, but I have a feeling she's referring to my wife." Nitorin was hesitant to allow Dana anywhere near such dangerous weapons.

"But that might be our only chance, Nitorin," Gerald said, "The fact that we got those blades at all is a sign from the Goddess of Luck herself."

"More like from the Devil himself, given that two hunters were found impaled by them," Nitorin grunted in frustration.

"You really hate Ragnarök, don't you?" Gerald asked.

"I hate Grimm in general," Nitorin said, "The idea of mankind being powerless against those monsters…it sickens me to my stomach. Plus, I have a family to take care of and my children."

"Your children?" Gerald asked, realizing who he's referring to, "Oh, so that's who that little kid that was running around the lab last month was?" Gerald chucked a little at the memory, "Heheh, no wonder you scolded him so hard. I thought he was just a kid you were babysitting."

"Here you go," Bao said as he arrived at their booth with their orders.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Ludgen," Gerald said.

"It's no trouble at all," Bao said with a smile, "I couldn't help but overhear as I walked over, but you say something about a son, Mr. Alisen?"

"Yep, his name's Jurabi," Nitorin said, "I tell you; the kid gets excited at the sight of anything—even Grimm gets him in an ecstatic mood."

Both Bao and Gerald let out a laugh at the thought of a kid acting like that.

"Well looking at you, I'd say that excitement runs in the family," Bao said, "I remember when you first tasted my coffee."

"Come on, it wasn't like I told everyone in Vastel about this place," Nitorin said.

"That's exactly what you did, Nitorin," Gerald pointed out.

"You recommended this place on the news, for crying out loud," Bao said, giving Nitorin a wink, "Not that I have any problem with that."

"Oh," Nitorin said, realizing that he actually did that.

"Well it helped my business out a lot, Mr. Alisen, so thanks for doing that for me," Bao said before he heard the bell ring indicating that another customer had entered his café, "Well, I'll be seeing you both around," The man said before he went back to his counter to take the next customer's order.

"So, getting back on topic," Gerald began, "About what I wanted to talk to you about that couldn't wait until tomorrow…I'm afraid to say this, but the Vastel Council's been asking me for an insider's report on any information you're withholding from them about our progress."

"Oh for crying out loud...Do they know anything about patience?! They expected us to get results in five years when we're unsure how long it will still take!" Nitorin silently muttered, "My company can only do so much with the technology we have. We're so close too, but we simply need a viable power source with enough firepower to kill a Zenith Grimm. But to think the Vastel Council would be stupid enough to even think about throwing an opportunity like this away."

"I feel your pain, Nitorin," Gerald said, "A lot of money from my investment company was spent on this weapon you're building. The council is full of cowards, if you ask me. They're not willing to take risks for the sake of humanity's well-being."

"Yeah," Nitorin said as he finished up his tea, "If I can just finish this weapon and give it to my wife without any problems…it will change everything for everyone. She's already done enough at the Vulna Conflict, but if she takes down all four Zenith Grimm and somehow rid the world of Grimm entirely..."

"She'll be a legend—one forever told even in the far future as Humanity's Savior," Gerald said.

"…That too, but more importantly, my son and daughter won't have to grow up a hunter," Nitorin said, "After I heard what happened to Dana's team four years back…I just can't let Jurabi go through that same thing."

"As much as I am an outsider in this, I must speak my mind," Gerald said, leaning forward, "It takes a very strong will to make a difficult choice. I'm sure every hunter understands that, including your wife."

"But leaving a comrade to die…" Nitorin began.

"To save herself and the rest of her team?" Gerald finished with his rhetorical question.

"…You're right," Nitorin said, "I shouldn't doubt my own wife's decisions. She might end up turning me into Grimm goo if she hears me saying this mopey stuff."

"Good, because it'd be bad if Alisen Industries' owner showed back up to work with a brooding face," Gerald said before finishing up his food.

"Heh, you make me sound like some kind of adult emo," Nitorin said.

"Hey, you said it, not me," Gerald said as they both shared a laugh before saying their goodbyes for the night.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Residence~~_

The Alisen family had just finished their dinner, despite one person being absent. As Jurabi placed his empty plate in the sink, he let out a sigh as he looked at his mother, who was covering up the dinner plate full of food with a long napkin.

"Is Dad going to be late again?" Elise asked.

"I'm afraid so," Dana said.

"This is the fourth time this week," Elise said, "What in the world could he be making this late at night."

"I'm afraid we can't tell you that just yet, Elise," Dana said, "Now both of you go on to bed now. It's getting late."

"…Alright," Elise said. Before she went off to her room, she glanced at Jurabi, who was silently sitting at the table with a sad face starting to form. She pitied her little brother. Her parents always had the free time to read her bedtime stories when she was little, but now their father had become so engrossed in his work that he can't even spend time with Jurabi.

As Elise went up the stairs to her room, Jurabi sat still at the table, holding back this gloomy feeling after understanding that there would be no story time tonight, "No story time, I guess…"

Dana gave the boy a reassuring smile before she picked him up with ease and gave him a warm hug, "Don't be so down, Jurabi," She said as she walked upstairs to his room, "Your daddy is a busy man who has a lot of people counting on him."

"But…I want him to be here with us," Jurabi said as they entered his room and his mother placed him on his bed, "I want us to finish this bedtime story together."

"And we will, dear," Dana said, laying the bed covers over her son, "But Mommy and Daddy have to first make sure the big, bad Grimm don't interrupt our story time. So, give us a little more time, can you do that for us?"

"…Okay," Jurabi said, as he lied down, "You promise we'll finish the story together?"

"Promise," Dana said before she gave her son a kiss on his forehead before heading to the door, "Sweet dreams."

"Good night, Mommy," Jurabi said as Dana closed the door behind her.

Dana walked back downstairs and was about to clean the dishes from dinner, but heard the sound of the front door opening.

"I'm home," Nitorin called out as he entered the house exhausted and hungry.

"You're late again," Dana said, "Your food's on the table."

"Thanks," Nitorin said as he put down his black laptop and suitcase on the couch table before heading to the kitchen table to begin eating his dinner, "You're cooking's fantastic, as usual, Dana."

"Comes with being a mother of two little feisty children and a workaholic husband," Dana said as she sat down at the table across from Nitorin.

Nitorin's face had guilt painted on it. He froze for a good second realizing that he had caused them to skip out on Jurabi's bedtime story, "…I know…I messed up again," Nitorin said.

"Nitorin—"

"Dana, you need to understand that this project is important," Nitorin explained, "The future of Vastel is hanging on whether or not I can finish the new weapon. If I don't—"

"Let me stop you there, Nitorin," Dana said, interrupting her husband, "I understand the weight of the situation that we are both in and the possible…benefits from this project of yours, but if you keep this up, you and Jurabi might drift apart."

"I know," Nitorin said, "But if I don't get any new results or even get close to a complete, working weapon, the Vastel Council will shut down the project. Not only will my company's reputation be in shambles, but worse, Jurabi and Elise…they'll live their lives the same way as everyone else—in fear."

"I understand all too well," Dana said, clenching her chest, "If Jurabi becomes a hunter like he wants to, he might be forced to endure pain beyond his understanding. Just like I did."

"Exactly. We are so close to having the means to fight back against the Grimm more effectively, but the council just wants to throw it away if it shows even the slightest hindrance," Nitorin said.

"To be fair, Nitorin, you are dealing with power that none of us understands," Dana said, "No one has ever wielded a weapon that has qualities of a regular Grimm, let alone an Zenith Grimm. What if it turns its wielder into a Grimm, or even worse, brings the Zenith Grimm, Ragnarök, to Argyros City? The council knows the risks that are involved with this project, but why can't you?"

"The risks are dangerous, but I believe it is worth it," Nitorin said, "Imagine a world where we don't have to risk our lives fighting Grimm—where we don't have to worry about when they'll attack us or when they'll claim another defenseless life. That's the kind of world I want Jurabi and Elise to grow up in—not this…this hellhole!"

Dana stayed silent, listening to Nitorin rant on about his issue with the current state of the world. She couldn't blame him for feeling this way; especially with what he's gone through.

"I'm sorry, Dana…I…" Nitorin looked down at the scar on his right arm, reliving the days when he was young.

Nitorin lived in the southern area of Vulna Kingdom called the Loyal Hills. The Loyal Hills had peaceful villages and farms. Despite his family being farmers, Nitorin was more fascinated by the technology found in Argyros City. Whenever he had the free time after helping with farm work, he would always be trying to build a model plain or a model car. Even though his parents did not like the idea of their son being into technology, they were supportive of him nonetheless and made plans to transfer him to Argyros City for a job. However, one day the Loyal Hills became overrun with Grimm. Nitorin's parents were brutally murdered by a Grimm while Nitorin himself managed to escape via the river that connects from the Loyal Hills to Argyros City, but not without receiving a wound on his right arm from one of the Ursa Grimm that attacked him before he fell down the river.

When Nitorin regained consciousness, he found himself in the Argyros City hospital. It was later revealed that he was found washed up the lake by the owner of a weapon's manufacturing company, Noctuvo Isel. When Noctuvo discovered Nitorin's natural gift in crafting and understanding of technology, he decided to take him under his wing and teach the boy everything he knew about technology. As Nitorin grew older and wiser, so did Noctuvo's unfortunate brain illness. The man passed away, but not before naming Nitorin as his predecessor who will lead the newly named Alisen Industries and all of Vulna Kingdom into a brighter future with new technology.

Dana got up from her seat to sit next to her husband, hugging him to give him as much comfort as he needed, "It's okay, Nitorin. I made a promise to my team and to all of you, my family, to rid the world of those monsters."

"And I made a promise to you too, Dana," Nitorin said, "The promise to help you find out the truth of your past."

"My past…it isn't important to me," Dana said.

Dana has no memories of her past leading up to when she first met Nitorin. One day, she was wandering the plains of Vulna until she met Nitorin, who was out on a weapons test with his adoptive father, Nocturvo. Since then, she had been under his care. One day, she saw a hunter's academy tournament broadcasted on television. Seeing the raw strength of those hunters sparked a flame inside the girl as she demanded that she was allowed permission to become a hunter.

Nocturvo, while he was cold on the outside, grew a warm heart seeing the happiness of both Dana and his student, Nitorin. He allowed Dana to go to Vastel Academy when she became 16.

The training was much harder and more brutal than she had imagined at first, but eventually, things started to become more natural to her. Killing Ursa eventually started feeling like a chore to her and the team she led to countless battles against the Grimm.

But one day, Dana became overconfident in her abilities and put too much faith in the strength of her team. She recklessly led her team to track down the Zenith Grimm of Vulna, Ragnarok "The Shadow Dragon". She had thought things would go well given that they were the top team of Vastel Academy, but oh was she wrong. Ragnarok was able to quickly render Dana's team powerless due to it being able to render Aura protection and semblances completely useless. By the end of that nightmarish day, one of her teammates, a boy named Morgan, had no choice but to hold the powerful Grimm back as much as he possibly could while he allowed Dana and the rest of the team to escape. A few days after when Morgan did not return, a search team of hunters returned with only his weapon, but not Morgan himself.

Dana was stricken with grief when she saw her brother's weapon return without its owner. After Morgan was announced as Killed in Action (KIA), Dana was court marshaled and sent into solitary confinement for leading her team into a suicide mission without authorization. Eventually, she was bailed out by Nitorin, who had at the time become the new head of the new Alisen Industries.

However, Dana was no longer allowed to become a hunter and was stripped of her title.

But one day, the Ragnarok Mountain erupted, causing a horde of 10,000 Grimm—Ursas, Beowolfs, and Beringels, to go berserk, putting Argyros City in grave danger.

At the time, all that was protecting the city were guards inexperienced in fighting Grimm.

But Dana, who was a freelancing hunter, stepped in and fought and killed all 10,000 Grimm single handedly. In recognition for her bravery, the Vastel Council freed Dana of her charge and allowed her back into Vastel Academy to complete her training. It didn't take long before she was revered as one of the strongest hunters in Vulna, making her name in Vastel history.

"My past is not important," Dana said, "What matters to me more is what I have now, but in order to keep the people I love alive, I have to fulfill my duty."

"So…are you willing to do it, Dana?" Nitorin asked, "Are you going to take those Grimm weapons? There won't be any turning back if you do this."

"Yes. I want to kill Ragnarok along with every other Grimm in the world more than anything…" Dana said, clenching her fists in anger, remembering her failure that cost the life of her teammate and the bond she shared with her team. She knew it was all her fault. That's why she wants to atone for her mistakes, "But…I don't want to lose you or Jurabi or Elise. You're all my family…the only family I have left to look back on with a smile."

Nitorin gave his wife a similar, warm smile before he connected his forehead with hers, "You, Jurabi, and Elise are all I have too. If I fail…what kind of example would I be setting as a father?"

"I know," Dana said, closing her eyes while feeling concerned, "I'm just…a bit worried for you, that's all."

"What worries you?" Nitorin asked, "Is it the fact that the weapon has Grimm qualities."

"That's part of it, yes," Dana said, "But I've been having this uneasy feeling for a while. I've been sent to patrol the palace, but I'm not sure why. Nothing has happened in this city since Ragnarök Mountain erupted.

"Perhaps you're being paranoid," Nitorin said, "Have faith in me, Dana. Everything will work out once this weapon is finished."

"Having faith is what got my teammate killed…" Dana said, her face full of regret as she remembered the day that her brother was announced dead.

"That won't happen to me," Nitorin said, caressing his wife's cheek and looking into her eyes, "I promise."

They gave each other a soft, long kiss. They loved each other and would do anything to keep each other safe, but more importantly, they both would give anything to ensure their children grew up happy. Even though the risks are both high and uncertain, both Nitorin and Dana are willing to go through with it if it means creating a world without Grimm.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Unknown Location~~_

In a dark room that was lit only by the light coming from a television screen, there was a man sitting at his chair with three dust crystals in his hand—one red, one green, and one blue. He watched the news, which was being broadcasted on the television, report about the recent dust robbery in Argyros with delight.

"It sure feels good to have your work acknowledged by the public," The man said as he placed the dust crystals down.

"Boss Fuchou," Called a man wearing the mask that bore the face of a dragon.

The man, who was named Fuchou, let out an annoyed sigh before saying with a deep voice, "Didn't I tell you not to call for me during my break?"

"Sorry, sir, but there's an important call for you," The masked man said, "It's from that faunus group called Eclipse."

Fuchou stood up from his chair and turned around so the light from the opened door could shine on him.

Fuchou wasn't a man; he was a Komodo Dragon faunus with scaly skin, slit irises in his eyes, and a gray dragon tail. His face's cheek bones were high from the neck and his teeth looked sharp enough to tear a door off its hinges. The man's hair was black and his muscles appeared extremely tough.

He wore a long, purple, sleeveless, open coat with black combat pants and metal knee guards. The pants are tucked into a pair of black steel-toed boots. He also had a pair of black gloves with a plane, metal mask sitting on his face with black, bulletproof glass covering the area where his eyes were.

"Eclipse, huh?" Fuchou asked, "They better not be asking us help them on some stupid suicide mission. That just isn't our style."

"It's not actually anything," The man with the dragon mask said, "But they're offering much more money than any of our normal contractors."

"Very well, then," Fuchou said as he picked up the remote and turned off the television, "This had better be important."

He later went into a communication room to pick up the call that was pinging on the computer. Once he did, he heard a voice that was using a voice changing system to hide the identity of the caller.

"Greetings, Drago Fuchou," The caller said.

"I heard you had a job for me. The leader of Eclipse, I assume?" Fuchou, whose first name was Drago, asked, "Or shall I call you by your codename: Deathwatch?"

"Who I am and my importance in Eclipse is of little concern to you," Deathwatch said, "We have need of your "expertise" in thievery."

"Kind of you to add the compliment there," Drago said, "But my skills don't come cheap, you know. And depending on the target, I might end up adding a large sub-tax fee in there too."

"Eclipse does not use money when it comes to business, Fuchou," Deathwatch said.

"Then why the hell did you contact me and my gang?" Drago asked, "No money, no contract, no deal."

"We have a much better alternative to acquiring aid besides money," Deathwatch continued, "We've recently acquired some intriguing information about the Council of Vastel Kingdom—information that perhaps someone of your history may be looking for."

"Information on the council? Hah, what a good joke! We all know how impossible it is to get anything on those snakes in human skin!" Drago said.

"Ah, of course," Deathwatch said, "After all, how could we possibly get information about the death of a certain beloved politician not being a mere accident."

"…" Drago froze for a full second before he leaned forward in interest, "You better not be lying about this."

"Would you rather trust us, or the Vastel Council?" Deathwatch asked.

"Personally, neither of you sickos," Drago said, "But…you've done more for me than those idiots sitting on their comfortable chairs. So, tell me the details of our job."

"I knew you would come around," Deathwatch said, "Your job is simple: You are to steal a secret weapon that is under development at Alisen Industries and bring it to the specified location."

"Whoa…Alisen Industries?" Drago asked, "A secret weapon? This is the first time I've heard of something like that."

"Oh, believe me, this weapon is very real," Deathwatch said, "We have an insider feeding us all the information from Nitorin Alisen's office computer. According to this insider, the weapon is still in testing phase, but it will soon be complete. How you obtain this weapon is of no concern to us as long as you bring it to us unscathed."

"You speak of this mission like it's going to be easy," Drago said, "There is Mr. Alisen's huntress girl we need to worry about. How do we handle her?"

"I'm sure you and your gang of thieves can figure that out," Deathwatch said, "Unless this information isn't that important to you."

"Gr…fine, you have a deal," Drago said, "But this information better be worth every second we're out there risking our necks."

"Oh, it's worth more than worth your whole lives," Deathwatch said, "Until we meet again."

And then the transmission ended.

Drago took in a deep breath and pushed a button to call someone, "Zima. Get the men ready. The Drago Gang has an important job to do tomorrow."

"Sure thing, Boss," Said a female's voice on the other line.

"Alisen Industries…" Drago said, "What kind of weapon are you making, Mr. Alisen, and why do I feel as though…"

…

…

...

"…you've painted a target on yourself?"

* * *

 _ **Therion Arc Ending Song:**_ _ **Konna Sekai, Shiritakunakatta (I Wish I'd Never Known A World Like This) [Akame ga Kill]**_

 **Jurabi: Heeeeellooooo~! This is Jurabi Therion greeting you who has finished this second chapter of The World of Vastel!**

 **Good lord, guys! One thing you need to learn about me is that you never leave me alone with an empty world because I'll be like a god and put all kinds of crazy shit in it! The Zenith Grimm. I am not joking about how ferocious and powerful these guys are. I just randomly thought "You know what the Grimm need? These big powerful, elderly Grimm that have been around since the beginning of time who have these colossal power to just annihilate anyone who looks at them funny and are able to make aura and semblances useless."**

 **Okay, I'm sure most of you are wonder "Jurabi, if Grimm this powerful around, how in the world is Vastel still standing?"**

 **There is an answer to that; I just can't explain it to you all at this moment. What I can explain is that these Grimm are in Vastel for a reason—Ragnarok especially. And these Grimm are also the reason why I didn't harp on how overpowered people's OC's were because these Zenith Grimm are gonna be a big challenge to beat. And I'll show you just how dangerous they are a lot sooner than you think…if you know what I mean.**

 **Anyways, I have a few things I need to talk about. First, I'd like to thank all of you for submitting your OC's once again and bearing with the starting issues with the character arc issue and world building. Those were honest mistakes on my part and I apologize for them.**

 **One thing I need to comment on is the stats on this story because oh my god I was not expecting this story to get the numbers it currently has. 814 views, 11 favorites, 18 followers, and 15 reviews in the span of two weeks. Wow, I was not expecting this story to get that much with just one complete prologue chapter and an update. It might be just my imagination, but man. Stuff like that really helps out my drive and my passion to write this story, so thank you all for sticking with this.**

 **One last thing is to mention the owner of the two OC's that were introduced in this chapter.**

 **Bao Ludgen and Drago Fuchou (reven228)**

 **Speaking of which, professors, side characters, and villain OC's are still accepted, so feel free to submit as much as you like.**

 **Anyways, guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Man things are going to get interesting real quick. I'm so stoked right now and I'm honestly glad I randomly decided to start this.** **If you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know in the reviews and leave a favorite and a follow. Thank you very much for reading. See you next chapter~!**


	3. Therion Arc Chp 3: Project Therion

**Therion Arc Chp. 3: Project Therion**

 _~~Unknown Location~~_

"…Dana?" Asked a muffled voice, and silence followed a brief period afterwards until the voice called out again, "Dana!"

Dana opened her eyes when she heard the voice call out to her, sounding like a cry for help. The woman took a quick look at her surroundings, finding herself in a thick, dark area surrounded by large cliffs. The darkness was so thick that Dana was unable to see two feet in front of her nose.

"I can't see anything," Dana said, shocked and confused. She had no idea where she was or how she even came here. But that was when she noticed something odd about the darkness around her, "This darkness…it feels familiar," That was when the woman's face froze in terror. She realized that the darkness she was in was not normal, "I-it can't be. Is this—?"

"Dana…" The same voice called out to Dana, sounding like a man's voice.

Dana turned around to face the direction the voice had come from—deeper into the darkness. She took in a deep breath and then calmly released it through her mouth to put ease to her nerves.

With a calm mind, Dana proceeded to walk through the dark forest. Despite the sheer absurdity of how dark things were, Dana had no problem traversing through. She kept her guard up, her heart heavily beating on every second.

Dana made her way to an open area that had old stones paved onto the ground. In the distance, she could barely make out an old building surrounded by a black mist.

"This place…" Dana said, remembering the events that took place here. This was the place she brought her hunter team ten years ago to find the Zenith Grimm: Ragnarök—the place where she had last seen her teammate, Morgan.

Suddenly, Dana felt a hand tightly grab onto her right shoulder. Her reflexes quickly kicked in and she jumped forward before turning around, already in a defensive stance. Amidst the darkness, Dana was able to make out a lone figure that appeared to be a man.

"Who goes there?!" Dana asked. When she did not get a response from the figure, she then said more firmly, "I told you to identify yourself!"

"…Dana…" The voice said, sounding like the one that was calling out to her before.

Much to Dana's dismay, this voice was starting to sound familiar. A wound in her heart suddenly began to reopen as the figure stepped forward, close enough for Dana to easily tell who it is.

"No…you can't be…" Dana said, in complete denial as she dropped her guard.

The figure was a blond-haired man with ocean blue eyes. He wore a black leather shirt under an open red jacket with black pants and black combat boots.

Tears started to form in Dana's eyes as she placed her hands over her mouth, "M-Morgan?!"

"Dana," The man Dana called Morgan said. He let out a warm smile before saying, "It's good to see that you're okay."

Dana tried to hold back the pain that was inside her heart all these years, but she couldn't stop her feelings from pouring out. She ran to her longtime friend while yelling, "M-Morgan!" She leapt into Morgan's arms and gave him the biggest, emotion-filled hug she possibly could. Ever since the hunter search-and-rescue squad brought Morgan's weapon to her, Dana desperately wanted to believe he wasn't dead. Despite everyone telling her otherwise, she did not want to accept that the person she loved was dead.

"Whoa there," Morgan said, surprised by how much bigger Dana was since he last saw her, "You're a lot taller now Dana, so be careful not to knock me over."

"Morgan…" Dana whispered, wheezing on every breath she took, "All this time…they kept telling me that you were…dead! I'm so sorry…for what I did that day! I-I only wanted to—"

"There, there, Dana," Morgan said, with a soothing voice that could calm a raging bull, "There will be no blaming yourself while I'm around."

"B-but…"

"You just wanted to prove to everyone that our team was the best hunter team in Vastel," Morgan said, "So we got unlucky during our fight with Ragnarök. It's nothing we can't recover from."

"No…" Dana said, shaking her head, "It wasn't luck at all. We all would have died that day if you hadn't stayed behind."

"And you, Aoife, and Ken are alive because of that," Morgan said, "I don't regret my decision."

"Morgan…" Dana said, wiping away her tears after they broke up the hug.

"You've endured so many hardships, but later became Vulna's strongest hunter," Morgan said, "I couldn't be prouder of you."

"Huh?" Dana asked, a bit confused that Morgan would know that she was the strongest, "How do you know all of that?"

"I've been watching over you, Dana," Morgan said with a smile, "How else could I have known?"

"What?" Dana asked, noticing the darkness around him was lifting, but only because most of it was starting to seep into Morgan.

"You've made a wonderful family too," Morgan said, "A loving husband and two wonderful children. I'm jealous, Dana. But I wonder…what would happen if, say, all of those beloved people you love…were to suddenly drop dead?"

"Morgan?" Dana asked, "What's gotten into—"

That was when Morgan suddenly grabbed Dana by the throat tightly.

"Gaaah!" Dana gasped, trying to pry Morgan's hand off of her neck, "M-Mor…gan…what…are you—?"

"Heh, silly little Morgan," Morgan said with an evil chuckle. His eyes turned as black as the darkness that had consumed him, "I wasn't mad at all that I ended up sacrificing myself for you and the others; in fact, I was really just angry at you and your incompetence."

"Wh-wha…?" Dana asked, shocked and hurt to hear her own friend say that to her face.

Morgan gritted his teeth in anger and his eyebrows furrowed, "I should have been the leader of my own team. I should have been named the best hunter in Vulna! I did everything I was told to do: studied, trained, and even saved lives. But you…you came out of nowhere and took all of the glory right from under me!"

"M-Morgan…" Dana gasped, starting to lose air, 'P-please…stop…"

"You planned our horrible battle with that Zenith Grimm, didn't you?!" Morgan asked, his venomous anger dripping from his lips, "You wanted me to get killed to rid yourself of any competition!"

"N-no!" Dana shouted, "I would…never do that to you!"

"Don't lie!" Morgan shouted, "You counted on me being the virtuous one in the group who's willing to give his life to save your pathetic lives. Well what a dumb mistake that was. I should have left you all to die back then!"

"M-Morgan…I didn't…mean for you to die that day…!" Dana shouted, still feeling her ability to breathe being restricted, "I truly thought…we could win…but I was wrong…and I paid the price for it…!"

"Well I'm here to tell you that you haven't paid enough, Dana," Morgan said with an evil smirk, "Not only have you brought death to me that day, but you quickly replaced me with some other man and moved on as if I never existed. A person as vile as you doesn't deserve to have a family."

"N-no!" Dana shouted, suddenly pulling out enough strength to try and fight back against Morgan's grip, "I won't let…you hurt them!"

"Mommy!" Jurabi's voice shouted from the forest.

Dana's eyes widened in fear when she saw Jurabi suddenly jump out from the darkness, "Jurabi?!"

Morgan let out an evil smile when he laid eyes on Jurabi, "So this whelpling is your son? I expected better from someone as perfect as you, Dana."

"Let Mommy go, you meanie!" Jurabi shouted angrily.

"J-Jurabi…!" Dana shouted, "Run! Get out…of here…before you get hurt!"

"I'm not running, Mommy!" Jurabi shouted, "I'm going to save you!"

"I would be more concerned for yourself if I were you, Jurabi," Morgan said with an evil smile.

Not long after Morgan uttered those words, Dana saw a horrific darkness take shape behind the unaware Jurabi. The darkness took on a form all too familiar to her—the Zenith Grimm: Ragnarök. Though it was covered in shadows, Dana made no mistake in recognizing it.

Dana wanted to scream out to Jurabi to warn him of the danger behind him, but it was too late. By the time Jurabi had turned around to look at the monster behind him, Ragnarök had already opened its mouth, filled with black flames. Without hesitation, the monster breathed out a stream of black fire at Jurabi.

Dana reached out to Jurabi, tears falling from her eyes as she watched her son be engulfed in black flames, "JURABI!"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Residence~~_

 _~~December 14, 2990 (Morning)~~_

"JURABI!" Dana screamed at the top of her lungs while she was in a complete frenzy, "NOOOOO!"

"DANA!" Nitorin screamed, trying to hold down his wife with as much strength as he could muster. Jurabi and Elise were both in the bedroom after being woken by their mother's scream. They watched in worry, wondering what could be wrong with their mother.

"DANA, IT'S ME!" Nitorin shouted, roughly shaking Dana's body, "WAKE UP!"

It didn't take long for Dana to finally open her eyes after hearing her husband's voice. She gasped for air, trying to calm herself down after what she had just experienced. Dana looked at her son, daughter, and husband. Everyone had a confused and worried look on their faces.

"Nitorin?" Dana asked, "Elise?" When her eyes stopped at Jurabi, Dana felt a wave of fresh relief, "…Jurabi!"

"Thank god you're finally awake," Nitorin said, "When you wouldn't wake up for the past ten minutes, we all got worried."

"Yeah, are you okay, Mom?" Elise asked.

"I-I'm fine, everyone," Dana said, noticing that she was sweating a little.

"Did you have a bad dream, Mommy?" Jurabi asked.

"…Something like that," Dana said, hesitant to call what she went through a simple dream. She got out of her bed and gave both her children a tight hug, "But I am so glad that dream wasn't real."

"What do you mean, Mommy?" Jurabi asked.

"Oh, sorry," Dana said, releasing them from the hug, "Please don't mind what I said. Thank you all for worrying about me, though."

"You kids can go back to your rooms now," Nitorin said.

"Shouldn't we call a doctor at least?" Elise asked.

"I don't think there's a need to now," Nitorin said, "It was all a bad dream, so it's really nothing to worry about."

"Okay then," Elise said, "It sucks that I can't go back to my beauty sleep anymore now that I'm fully awake," As she turned around to leave the room, she noticed Jurabi silently staring at their mother with a worried expression, "Come on, Jurabi."

"…Alright," Jurabi said, as he hesitantly left the room.

Once the two kids had left, Dana sat back down on the bed while Nitorin closed the door. Nitorin then gave his wife a serious look as he sat down on the bed with her.

"What was that, Dana?" Nitorin asked.

"I-It was nothing," Dana said, not wanting to burden Nitorin with the same nightmare she had.

"Dana, it's me," Nitorin said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "You can tell me anything. Whatever nightmare you had, it's not going to happen here in reality."

"You don't know what I saw, Nitorin," Dana said.

"I don't know because you won't tell me what happened," Nitorin said, placing a hand on Dana's hand, "Please, Dana, let me help you."

Dana was hesitant at first, but she didn't want to worry her family any further. She decided to tell Nitorin about everything that happened in her nightmare from when she encountered Morgan to when she saw Ragnarök kill Jurabi.

Nitorin was stunned by the story he just heard, "God…no wonder you were screaming Jurabi's name."

"And it all felt so real too," Dana said, shivering a little, "What if…what if Morgan is really alive?"

"Dana…" Nitorin whispered. He wanted to disagree with Dana and remind her that there was no way one of her closest friends could have been alive for ten years. But how could he bring himself to tell her something so heartless? He knows how much Dana loved Morgan, despite deciding on her own to move on and marry Nitorin instead. So how could Nitorin bring himself to hurt Dana? He wouldn't.

"And if he is alive," Dana continued, "What would that mean for Jurabi? Will he be…?"

"That won't happen, Dana," Nitorin said, "Our son being killed, I mean."

"But…"

"Listen, I know you're feeling scared right now," Nitorin said, "You have been through a lot and have lost someone you cherished in the process. You're afraid of losing another loved one the same way, especially if it's one of our kids, but that's why you became a hunter, remember? You want to keep our children safe, right?"

"Yes, I do," Dana said with a nod.

Nitorin smiled at her response and hugged her, "Then the kids and I will be just fine with you keeping us safe. We trust you and every hunter in Vastel with our lives. You just need to do your best out there, and we'll do our part in cheering you on."

"Nitorin…" Dana said before she took in a deep breath, calming herself down before letting out a happy smile and returned the hug, "Thank you."

"We can postpone the testing for today if you're not ready yet," Nitorin said.

"No! No…" Dana said, "I'm fine. Really. I just need to hold that Grimm weapon, gain control of it, and we'll be set, right?"

"That's right, but we need you to be at your best, both physically and mentally," Nitorin said, "We don't know what will happen when you lay your hands on it."

"I know," Dana said before she stood up from her bed, "But I'm ready."

"Then let's get ready to head over there," Nitorin said, "I'll go check up on the kids while you change."

"Of course, darling," Dana said as she and Nitorin gave each other a quick kiss on the lips.

Nitorin left the room and went into the living room where he saw Jurabi and Elise patiently waiting on the couch, "Jurabi? Elise? Why aren't you in your rooms?"

"Daddy, is Mommy going to be okay?" Jurabi asked.

"Heh, how many times do I have to tell you?" Nitorin said, chuckling a little, "Your mother just had a nightmare that scared her."

"See, Jurabi?" Elise asked, "I told you it was nothing to keep worrying about."

"Mommy was scared?" Jurabi asked, "Of what?"

"…This is between you and me, Jurabi," Nitorin said as he crouched down to be at eye level with Jurabi, "Your mommy saw you get hurt in her dream. That's what scared her and also why she screamed your name."

"Oh…should I apologize to Mommy?" Jurabi asked.

Nitorin smiled as he gave his son a light pat on the head, "There's nothing to apologize for. Your mommy is a strong hunter. A little bad dream is nothing to her."

"Really?!" Jurabi asked, feeling his mood lightened up a little, "That's a relief. I wish I'm as brave as Mommy."

"Glad to see your spirits up again," Nitorin said, "In any case, why don't you two come with me to see my work? You both could use some time away from the house."

"I don't," Elise said, turning to go back to her room.

"Oh no, young lady," Nitorin said, stopping Elise by standing in her way and giving her a stern glare, "You're just going to laze around in bed on that phone of yours!"

"Am not!" Elise shouted in denial.

"No use, Elise," Jurabi said with a snarky smirk, "I told Daddy about all the times you slacked off when you should have been doing chores."

"You little—"

"Ah, ah, ah," Nitorin said, "Not this time, Elise. You are to come with us to my job or you'll have no dessert tonight."

Elise stepped back, frightened by the idea of her desert being threatened, "N-not my strawberry shortcake!"

"Don't worry, Elise," Jurabi said, still having his snarky smirk, "I'll be sure to eat that last piece for you. We can't have the cake going bad on us, can we?"

"Grrr!" Elise wanted to scream at the little annoying fly of a brother she has, but not with her father looking directly at her. She calmed herself down and let out a huff, "Fine, but I'm going to complain the entire time we are there!"

"We're pretty used to your complaining, so no objections here," Jurabi said.

"Can it," Elise growled.

"And…you two are at it again, aren't you?" Dana asked, walking down the stairs in her regular outfit, "You two better stay on your best behavior while your father and I are gone."

"Actually, Dana, I was planning on taking both Jurabi and Elise with us," Nitorin said.

"What?!" Dana asked, shocked that her husband would think of something like that.

"Can we, Mommy?" Jurabi asked, "I want to see the cool weapons Daddy has been making! I haven't been to Daddy's work for a long time!"

"It was only a month ago, Jurabi," Elise corrected him.

Dana approached Nitorin and whispered to him, "Will it be safe for them?"

"Of course, dear," Nitorin whispered back, "They won't be allowed in the testing room, but I figured they could at least explore the building with supervision."

"…Alright, as long as they are being watched by trusted people," Dana said, turning to her kids, "Come on, kids. Let's go see Daddy's work."

"Yaay~!" Jurabi cheered as Elise shook her head and shrugged.

And so, the Alisen family left their house to visit Nitorin's work, Alisen Industries.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Somewhere Else in Argyros City~~_

On the rooftops of one of the tall buildings next to Alisen Industries, a group of militia soldiers were grouped together surveying the target building.

One of the watchmen with special binoculars that can see through stone spotted a particular room with the target weapons.

"Boss Fuchou, sir," The watchman said, "We found the target."

Drago Fuchou walked forward to the watchman, "Where?"

"On the third floor in a room with a heavily sealed door. Most likely the testing area for the weapons," The watchman said.

Drago turned to his transmitter earpiece, "You got all that, Zena?"

"Yes, Boss," Said a female's voice on the other line, "Third floor behind a sealed door. Any idea how we're going to get past it?"

"I have an idea," Drago said, "One of the squads will sneak to the rooftop and force a blackout in the building. During the confusion, we'll sneak in, break into the room, and acquire the target before they realize what's happened. Zena, you'll scout out the area for entry and escape routes."

"Yes, Boss," The female named Zena said.

"Uh, Boss Fuchou, if you don't mind me asking, but are we sure we can trust this Deathwatch person?" Asked a Drago Gang member, "This seems like a risky mission since this is a top-quality government property we're stealing."

"I have my doubts as well," Drago said, "But if they have information on the Vastel Council that we are unaware of, it might help accelerate our plans. For now, let's focus on the mission and remember the golden rule: No killing unarmed civilians."

"Yes Boss!" The men shouted.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~With the Alisen Family~~_

When the Alisen family arrived, they saw a group of scientists and workers preparing for their shifts. Off to the side were mechanical experts building all different kinds of weapons in an isolated construction room.

The sight of the weapons all around made Jurabi scream in absolute delight as he put his face close to the windows to get a close look at the weapons. To Nitorin and Dana, Jurabi looked like a child first experiencing their first carnival ride.

Gerald had just finished talking to a group of engineers when Nitorin and Dana caught his attention, "Good morning, Nitorin!" He called out to him with a wave.

Nitorin turned to Gerald and returned the wave, "Good morning to you too, Gerald."

Once Gerald had walked over to Nitorin, he noticed that Dana, Jurabi, and Elise were with him. He then turned to Dana, "And…is this your wife, I presume?"

"Yes, my name is Dana Alisen," Dana introduced, "I don't think we've met in person."

"Ah yes, you were always away at your hunter duties. We hardly had time to even have an introduction," Gerald said, "I'm Gerald Achilles, a good friend of your husband who's spending an ungodly amount of money for his project. And I see you both brought your kids here today as well."

"That's right," Nitorin said, turning to Jurabi and Elise, "Kids, come say hi to Gerald."

Elise walked over to Gerald and introduced herself, "Hello, it's nice to meet you, sir," She then noticed that Jurabi was still fixated on the weapons, "Jurabi, get over here!"

While Elise tried to drag Jurabi over to introduce himself, Nitorin then said to Gerald, "I'm sorry for dropping in with my kids, Gerald, but we couldn't leave them alone at the house. I hope no one minds."

"No worries, Nitorin," Gerald said with a smile, "I've actually been interested in meeting your kids; especially your son. But…you're not going to let them into the testing lab, are you?"

"Of course not," Nitorin said, "I'll have one of the employees watch over them while we work."

"Are you sure your employees can be trusted with our kids?" Dana asked, with concern.

"I know, you're worried about our kids," Nitorin said, "But everyone here in Alisen Industries has children of their own. They know a thing or two about watching kids responsibly."

"…If you say so…" Dana said.

Elise eventually succeeded in getting Jurabi's attention back. The boy happily walked up to Gerald, "Ooh, I remember you. You're that Gerald dude I met a few days ago!"

"That's right, Jurabi," Gerald said with a smile, "I still remember when your dad brought you here to look at all of our weapons. Your smile lightened up the mood of the entire building."

"Hehe, I'm glad I helped," Jurabi said with a big smile, "Get this, Mr. Gerald: Daddy talks about you all the time."

"Oh, so Nitorin talks about me a lot?" Gerald asked, giving Nitorin a sly smirk.

"Yep, he says something about how everything he's done was not possible without you, and how grateful he is," Jurabi said.

"I can vouch for that," Dana said with a smile, "Nitorin has a habit of running his mouth about all the people who do him favors."

"Jurabi…Dana…" Nitorin said, slightly embarrassed that his own son and wife were telling Gerald all of this information.

Gerald let out a loud laugh before patting Nitorin on the back, "Geez, Nitorin. You didn't have the guts to tell me all of this in person?"

"I was planning on thanking you sometime later," Nitorin said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey, it's no big deal," Gerald said, "All that matters is that we get this project done."

"Project?" Elise asked.

"Gerald!" Nitorin growled, giving Gerald a stern glare.

"Whoops, me and my big mouth," Gerald said, scratching his head.

"What kind of project?! Is it a new rocket cannon or maybe a special, mechanized bow?!" Jurabi asked, "Or maybe it's a duel bladed scythe!"

"There he goes again…" Elise muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Ah…well that information is classified," Dana said, "We can't tell both of you."

"Come on, you two," Gerald whispered to Nitorin and Dana, "They're your kids. Don't they deserve to know?"

"I don't see a point," Nitorin whispered back, "It's not like either of them are going to fight Grimm. Besides, the Vastel Council specifically forbade talking about Project Alisen to the public."

"What's the worst that can happen?" Gerald asked, "They're simply kids who seem to enjoy learning all these neat things; Jurabi especially. Imagine his reaction when he sees what we are cooking up. That would be a major boost to his drive to be a part of Alisen Industries."

Nitorin didn't want to openly admit it, but he truly wants Jurabi to be a part of the company and move humanity forwards towards the new future he opens. He knows that with the current technology of his generation, he won't be able to find newer and more efficient ways to keep humanity safe from the Grimm threat. There is also the possibility that Project Alisen may be a failure and humanity won't have a counter to the Zenith Grimm. Regardless, Nitorin does not want to wish that life onto Jurabi, and neither does Dana.

"We'll have Jurabi be interested in joining the team through other means, Gerald," Nitorin said, "But right now I just don't want to risk him getting near Project Therion."

"I understand," Gerald said, "Sorry for being inconsiderate to your son's safety."

"Okay, let me call for two of our employees to watch the kids," Nitorin said as he walked off to his office.

"Mommy, where's Daddy going?" Jurabi asked.

"He's going to get you two some babysitters for today," Dana said.

"What?! Babysitters?!" Elise asked, with an annoyed expression, "Mom, I'm almost in high school! What do I need a babysitter for?!"

"Jurabi is still in elementary school and you, young lady, are still in middle school," Dana said, "Until you both are real adults, neither your father nor I will let you two run around without supervision."

"Are you going to be doing something?" Jurabi asked.

"Yes," Dana said, "Let's just say…that Mommy is going to take a test."

"A test?" Jurabi asked.

"That's right," Dana said with a smile, "And if Mommy passes, all the big bad Grimm will run away from her."

"Mom, can't you talk to him like normal?" Elise asked, not understanding what Dana was saying.

Dana put a finger to her lips, gesturing Elise to be quiet. She then turned to Jurabi with the same smile, "In the meantime, you two will be watched by Daddy's friends. Be sure to be nice to them and listen to what they say."

"Okay, Mommy," Jurabi said.

That was when Nitorin returned with two female workers by his side, one with brown hair and the other with long, red hair, "Jurabi, Elise, these two ladies will be giving you a tour around the building."

The red-haired lady stepped forward, "Hello, I am Rachel Vongarus. It's nice to meet you both."

Then the young, brown-haired woman stepped forward, "And my name is Zenarai Okiura. I'm new here so I hope I'm not a problem."

"It's nice to meet you too," Elise said, "I'm Elise."

"Jurabi!" Jurabi shouted.

"Oh, aren't you a cute one," Rachel said giving Jurabi a smile.

"Jurabi, Elise, I want the two of you to remain on your best behavior," Nitorin said, "Your mom and I won't be long so feel free to go around the building. Just don't go into the restricted areas."

"Okay," Both Jurabi and Elise said.

"Then let's begin the tour," Zenarai said, "We'll first head over to the assembly area."

The ladies took Jurabi and Elise through a hallway.

"Nitorin, are you absolutely sure the kids will be fine," Dana asked.

"Is something bothering you, Dana?" Nitorin asked.

"I can't put my finger on it, but it feels like I've seen Miss Okiura from somewhere," Dana said.

"Did you?" Nitorin asked, "From where?"

"…I…"

"Okay, why don't we get this test underway," Gerald said, interrupting Dana's train of thought, "Please follow me, Mrs. Alisen."

Dana didn't say a word before turning to Nitorin, "It's probably my imagination."

"If you say so," Nitorin said as they both followed Gerald to an elevator and pressed the button for it to go to the third floor.

The elevator arrived at the third floor where the tests on new weapons are conducted. The three of them made their way to the main testing lab's door.

"Could you tell me more about this project, Nitorin?" Dana asked, "I will need an idea of what kind of weapon I'm going to be holding."

"We are in a restricted area, so it should now be fine to tell you," Nitorin said as they stopped at a sealed door and he turned to his wife, "The name of this project is called "Project Therion"."

"Project Therion?" Dana asked.

"The Vastel Council gave it that name because of the fact that the Therion family were devoted followers of the Dark Guardian, and since it is theorized that Ragnarök may be connected to the Dark Guardian, we had to give a part of it a fitting name," Nitorin explained.

"Project Therion is made up of two swords to be used together," Gerald said, "The kicker here is that what makes up the blade turns out to be one of the blades found on Ragnarök's wings used to cut through even the strongest hunters. We were lucky to even get our hands on this thanks to the combined efforts of 50 hunters, who are now dead."

"My god…" Dana said, "I didn't know about this mission to attack Ragnarök."

"You didn't know because I requested the council not to inform you about it," Nitorin said, "You would have leapt at the chance to fight that monster again," When he said that, he noticed Dana's expression darken.

"We spent the last ten years trying to turn those Ragnarök blades into a weapon that a hunter can use," Gerald said, "We believe that the only thing that can kill a Zenith Grimm…"

"Is itself," Dana finished.

"Or a part of itself, to be exact," Nitorin said, "So far, we were able to form the blades into duel swords with a custom hilt; however, there is one problem we can't seem to get past."

"Which is?" Dana asked.

"We can't activate the weapon's true potential," Gerald said.

"True potential?" Dana asked.

"As you know, Ragnarök has a special attack where it breathes black flames that burn anything and everything in its vicinity," Nitorin said, "We were hoping to mimic that display of power by putting power into the swords to make them create those black flames artificially, but no matter what energy source we used, it only activated for three seconds at most."

"Are the flames even necessary? I feel like the blades would be enough," Dana said.

"True, I even said as much to Nitorin, but…" Gerald said.

"Before, we tried to test the capabilities of the blades without the flames on a multitude of hard objects," Nitorin said, "Sadly, the blades had trouble cutting through anything, leading us to believe it's true power is locked away."

"I see," Dana said, "So that's why you need my help specifically."

"Yes," Gerald said, "Your semblance is a powerful one. To be able to unlock any weapon's true potential simply by holding onto it for a single minute is a fascinating power. You may very well be the key to help us through this obstacle. But your husband has been hesitant."

"We haven't encountered any issues so far when testing Project Therion, but this is the first time we're attempting to force its true potential out," Nitorin said, "The risks are unknown, which makes this test extremely dangerous. Even at this moment, I'm still on the fence about allowing you anywhere near those blades, Dana."

"…But if I succeed and unlock the true potential of the weapons, we'll have a chance at killing Ragnarök and the rest of the Zenith Grimm, right?" Dana asked.

"A higher chance, yes," Gerald said.

"Then I'm ready," Dana said.

"Are you sure, Dana? You can't turn back once you've entered this door," Gerald said.

"I made up my mind a long time ago," Dana said, remembering the horrible battle she had against Ragnarök back when she got Morgan killed, "I'll never forget that monster's lifeless eyes as it stared at me—knowing that whatever I do, it wouldn't be able to hurt it. I felt so helpless for the first time as a hunter…and Morgan…" She went silent for a few seconds before continuing, "That nightmare will haunt me forever, and it's also why I will never allow Jurabi to be a hunter. If there's even the smallest chance he will encounter Ragnarök or the other Zenith Grimm the same way I did, I refuse to take that chance. So, I'll do it. I'll be the one to kill every Grimm in the world. And then…my children can live happy and free."

"Wow…such a moving speech," Gerald said, his eyes widened in surprise, "I think I almost teared up."

"Yeah, my wife is like that sometimes," Nitorin said, "But she has a point. I want the same for Jurabi and Elise as well as every child in the world. If you're ready, then I'm ready too, Dana."

"Thank you, dear," Dana said as Nitorin began inputting the password to open the laboratory door.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~With Jurabi~~_

"Here's the assembly line," Zenarai said as they arrived at the assembly line area.

"Wow…" Jurabi gasped.

Jurabi saw several complicated machineries creating specific weapon parts and mathematical equations written on a dry erase board. Even though he was confused by some of them, he was in awe at how much there is to building weapons and technology.

"Like what you see?" Rachel asked as Jurabi nodded in response, "All of this is what your father does on a daily basis. He keeps track of all the weapons that are built and tested, and makes sure they are shipped to the correct kingdom that requires them."

"I don't get it," Jurabi said, not understanding what was being explained to him because he's too young.

"Haha, you'll understand when you're older," Rachel said, "It's actually a pretty fun job once you get the basics."

"Eh, doesn't seem all that impressive to me," Elise said.

"That's because you stare at your phone every day, Elise," Jurabi said, letting out a smug chuckle.

"Can it, twerp," Elise said.

"Now, now, you two, please keep the arguments down while you're in here," Zenarai said, "The workers here need their concentration."

"So, what do you two do here?" Jurabi asked.

"As I said before, I'm new to Alisen Industries and was assigned to be Dr. Vongarus's apprentice," Zenarai said.

"This is her first day as well, so this tour is a perfect chance to show her around," Rachel said, "I am your father's assistant. I help lighten the load Mr. Alisen may have, be it file reports, managing schedules and orders, and many more."

"I see…" Jurabi said, having a twisted face, "I still don't get it."

"Tchahahaha! Did you have to make that kind of face, Jurabi?" Rachel asked, unable to hold in her laugh.

Zenarai was completely silent throughout the whole ordeal until she heard a voice in her head.

 _"Zima, status report,"_ Said a familiar voice.

 _"Boss Fuchou, I'm still in the process of scouting the building,"_ Zenarai, who turns out to be Zima in disguise, said, _"But I've run into a little obstacle."_

Inside Zima's brain is a chip that allows her to communicate with her gang without drawing suspicion to her.

 _"We can see that,"_ Drago said, _"The top assistant and two of Mr. Alisen's kids. Talk about bad timing."_

 _"What should I do?"_ Zima asked, _"We won't be able to get anywhere near the sealed door because Nitorin doesn't wish his children there."_

 _"Remain calm and continue your roleplay,"_ Drago said, _"Team F has arrived at the rooftop and we can confirm that Nitorin has entered the testing room. Try to find a chance to get away once the blackout occurs. In case things go south, we'll need at least one hostage so try and bring one of the kids with you."_

 _"Sure thing, Boss,"_ Zima said.

 _"And remember the golden rule,"_ Drago said.

 _"Right, right, no killing unarmed people,"_ Zima said, making an annoyed face.

"Zenarai? Is something wrong?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, nothing," Zenarai replied, "I was just thinking if perhaps these kids are hungry by any chance."

"Oh, I sure am!" Jurabi shouted.

"Nah, I'm good," Elise said, still glued to her phone.

"At the very least, let's go to the break room then," Rachel said, "Then we'll go to the board meeting room."

As they head to the break room, Zima hears Drago's voice in her head.

"My team and I are in position, Zima," Drago said, "Have you found the routes yet?"

"I've found one, yes," Zima said, "I'll need more time to search for more."

"Hurry it up," Drago said, "If they finish the test process, we'll lose our chance."

"I'm on it," Zima said as she quickly came up with a plan to slip out of sight.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~With Dana~~_

Dana, Nitorin, and Gerald walked into the observation room that has a view of the testing area. The room was full of scientists and technicians who all greeted Nitorin.

"Good morning, Mr. Alisen."

"Good morning to you all," Nitorin said, "As you can see from my wife being present, today's going to be the big day."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Alisen, but are you sure we should be moving to such an extreme step so soon?" One of the scientists asked, "We still don't know the full capabilities of Project Therion yet."

"I know that you all are starting to have second doubts about this," Nitorin said, "We've spent the past ten years working on this project and now the risks are even higher, but if we manage to succeed, humanity and faunus will finally have an answer to the Zenith Grimm threat. People will no longer cower in fear, wondering when the Grimm calamity will end, and our children will grow up into a peaceful world without Grimm. I believe in my wife as she believes in herself."

"But sir, even with protective gear, there's no guarantee your wife will be safe," A technician said.

"Not to mention that your life will be at risk as well," A scientist then stated.

"I know, I know," Nitorin said, "I am the backbone of Alisen Industries and things will spiral out of control should I die, but the future…the future is something that is worth risking my life for. I am sorry if some of you disagree with my decision, but I don't see any other option than this."

"And I may not know any of you in this room, but I have faith in my semblance," Dana said, "My children mean a lot to me, and if what my husband told me is true, all of you should feel the same way, right?"

Every scientist and technician looked at each other, remaining silent the entire time.

"We both have made up our minds," Nitorin said, "Should any of you not wish to go through this, you may take your leave. I will not shun you in the slightest."

But no one in the team moved an inch from their spot for ten seconds.

This made Nitorin smile before he continued, "Alright, then. Let's finish this project once and for all!"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Breakroom~~_

"And here's the breakroom," Rachel said as she, Zenarai, Jurabi, and Elise all arrived at the breakroom, which was far more luxurious than one would expect.

"Oooh!" Jurabi said in awe, "It looks like one of those fancy hotels!"

"Heh, I wouldn't go that far," Rachel said, "It's good enough to relax our staff should they get tired."

"I'll go get you some snacks really quick, Jurabi," Zenarai said, "Would you two like something to drink at least?"

"Just pour us some water," Rachel said, "We don't want the kids drinking soda."

"Yes, ma'am," Zenarai said as she went into the kitchen and poured three glasses of water. After that, she grabbed a bag of chips and stopped for a moment and looked around before taking out three small packages of unknown origin. She later returned to the breakroom and set the glasses on the table while giving the bag of chips to Jurabi.

"Thanks," Elise said.

"It took you an awful long time to get these, Zenarai," Rachel said.

"The bag of chips was a little hard to find," Zenarai explained.

"Ah…Nitorin hid them again so he could have it all to himself, didn't he?" Rachel asked, letting out a giggle, "Our boss can be a handful."

Both Rachel and Elise began drinking their glass of water, but Jurabi opened his bag of chips first.

"Ooh, I love these kinds of chips, Miss Zenarai!" Jurabi said gleefully, "How did you guess?"

"Hm…I guess I got lucky," Zenarai said.

"Ngh…" Rachel suddenly felt her head becoming light after drinking her glass of water.

"Miss Rachel, what's wrong?" Jurabi asked, seeing not only Rachel feeling off but Elise as well.

"Why does…my head feel so light…?" Elise asked before she suddenly lost consciousness.

"Elise?!" Jurabi asked.

Rachel was about to lose consciousness as well before she realized what was causing this, "Our drinks…" She looked over to Zenarai, "Zenarai, what did you…?"

"Sweet dreams, Dr. Vongarus," Zenarai said as she watched Rachel lose consciousness.

"Miss Rachel!" Jurabi shouted, rushing over to both unconscious people trying to shake them awake, "What's happened to them, Miss Zenarai?!"

"Tch, I didn't think you would go for the chips first, kid," Zenarai said, "But no matter. It's only a minor setback."

"Huh? M-Miss Zenarai?" Jurabi asked, finding Zenarai's sudden shift in personality frightening.

Before Jurabi could react, Zenarai was suddenly behind him and knocked him out with a hard strike to the head with the blunt end of a metal pole axe.

"This is Zima, I'm free to scout the building now," Zima, who disguised her name as "Zenarai", said in her communication piece.

"And just in time too, because they're about to start the test," Drago said, "Hurry and get into position."

"Yes, Boss," Zima said as she quickly tied up Rachel and Elise before shoving them into a closet. She then tied up Jurabi's hands together and brought him with her through the halls, "You'll make a good hostage in case things go bad for my gang."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~With Dana~~_

"Are all the instruments ready?" Nitorin asked the technician team.

"We ran a check and double check, Mr. Alisen," A technician answered, "We're ready when you are."

"And the status on Project Therion?" Nitorin then asked.

"No anomalies detected," Another technician said, "We're ready to report anything strange during the test."

"Good. Scientists, are you ready to conduct research once the test is complete?" Nitorin asked, turning to the scientist team.

"Doubly so, Mr. Alisen," A scientist said, "Though it might be more beneficial to have Dr. Vongarus here as well."

"Dr. Vongarus is busy watching over my kids at the moment," Nitorin said, "She'll assist you all once we're done here," He then looked into the testing room, seeing a group of technicians getting Dana ready, "Dana, how are you feeling?"

Dana, who was in a protective yet restrictive suit, waved back at her husband, "I'm feeling a little tight in this suit."

"I know, I felt that way when I first tried it on," Nitorin said, "But that suit is strong enough to withstand dangerous chemicals. Just don't take it off under any circumstance."

"Got it," Dana said.

"…Dana…" A voice called out.

"Yes, Nitorin?" Dana asked.

"I didn't say anything, Dana," Nitorin said.

"Huh? You were calling out for me for something," Dana said.

"…No?" Nitorin said, "Are you okay, Dana?"

"Yeah, I am," Dana said, "Must have just imagined it."

"Mrs. Alisen is all ready to go, Mr. Alisen," The technician team said.

"Good, then let's begin," Nitorin said as the technician team left the testing room and returned to the observation room, "Remember, Dana, everything is riding on this test. So do your best."

"I know," Dana said, letting out a giggle.

"Okay, let's begin the test," Nitorin said, "Dana, please walk over to Project Therion and take a hold of one of the blades first. We're going to take this nice and slow."

"Got it," Dana said as she began walking towards the two Zenith Grimm blades.

"….Therion…"

Dana stopped in her tracks after hearing the voice again. She looked around for the source of the voice but no one else was in the room.

"What's wrong, Dana?" Nitorin asked.

"Nitorin…are you sure you're not saying anything to me?" Dana asked.

"What kind of question is that?" Nitorin asked.

"I keep hearing voices for some reason," Dana said, "If this is some kind of joke, it's not funny."

"None of us in this room are saying anything at the moment," Nitorin said, "Are you absolutely sure you're okay? If you're not mentally prepared, we can stop this test right now."

"No, I'm fine," Dana said as she continued on to the two Zenith Grimm swords, "It's just my imagination. I'm sure it'll stop at some point."

Dana slowly reached out her hand and grabbed a hold of the left Zenith Grimm sword. She lifted the blade up and waited to see if anything strange happened afterwards.

"Alright, now your semblance," Nitorin said, "Be extremely careful and don't overdo it."

"Yes," Dana said as she activated her semblance, Inner Awakening. Once she did, the sword began to glow red and black flames began to envelop around the blade.

"Status on the stability," Nitorin ordered.

"100% stable, sir," A technician said, "Both on Project Therion and Mrs. Alisen."

"How's the power?" Gerald asked.

"At 70% and rising," The technician said, "It's…actually rising at a faster pace than what we've usually done."

"Let's wait for a little longer," Nitorin said, "I know Dana can do this."

Meanwhile, Dana stared intently at the sword in her hand, remembering the day she fought against Ragnarök with her team, "It's strange. I never thought I would be holding the part of the monster that killed Morgan. But for some reason…now that I have a close look at it, I don't feel so angry. I feel…"

"How are you feeling, Dana?" Nitorin asked, interrupting her train of thought.

"I'm doing well," Dana said, "This isn't as hard as I thought it would be."

"Well the hard part is keeping those flames on," Nitorin said, "You doing well on that front?"

"Yes, no issues as of yet," Dana said.

"That's good," Nitorin said, "We're almost done, so hang in there."

But the doors to the lab observation room were busted open as a worker ran through shouting, "Mr. Alisen! It's an emergency!"

"What is it?!" Nitorin asked, a little annoyed, "We're in the middle of an important test."

"It's Dr. Vongarus and your daughter! They were found unconscious in the break room! It looked as though they were drugged!" The worker shouted.

"What?!" Nitorin asked, in shock, "What about my son?!"

"A team has been sent to search for him, but they haven't found him yet," The worker answered.

"Slow down," Gerald said, "How did this happen?"

"Wait a minute…what about Miss Okiura?" Nitorin asked.

"We don't know where she is either," The worker said, "She's not answering her phone either."

"But…why…?" Nitorin asked.

"What do we do, Nitorin?" Gerald asked.

"Do you even need to ask?" Nitorin asked, "We need to find my son."

That was when the lights suddenly turned off.

"What the—?!" Nitorin asked.

"What's going on?" Gerald asked.

"Sir…the power to the entire city has gone offline," A technician said.

"What about the backup generators?" Nitorin asked.

"They should be coming online soon," Said another technician.

Nitorin turned back to the blacked-out test room Dana was in and asked, "Dana, are you okay in there?"

"It's hard to see in here," Dana said.

"Okay, well put Project Therion down and come back into the observation room," Nitorin said, "Jurabi is missing!"

"What?!" Dana shouted.

"Yes, we have to find him quickly!" Nitorin said.

"Okay, I'll be right there," Dana said as she moved to put the Grimm sword down.

"…Dana…"

The same mysterious voice called out to Dana, but this time the voice was much more recognizable—a man's voice.

"Nitorin? Was that…you?" Dana asked looking around the room.

"Was what me?" Nitorin asked.

Before Dana noticed, the Grimm blade she was holding onto suddenly sprouted strange, sharp tubes that pierced through her left arm, causing excruciating pain.

"AAAAAAAH!" Dana screamed in pain.

"Dana?!" Nitorin asked, hearing Dana's screams, "What's going on in there?!"

"It's…! It's got a hold of me!" Dana screamed, "I can't get it off!"

"What has a hold of you?!" Nitorin asked, unable to see what was going on inside the room due to the dark.

"The….the blade!" Dana screamed, "It hurts! It hurts so much!"

"Open the door to the testing room!" Nitorin ordered the technician.

"We can't open the door until the power comes back online, sir," The technician said.

"How long until the power comes back?" Nitorin asked.

"ETA: two minutes," The technician answered.

"Damnit, we don't have that long to wait!" Nitorin shouted.

"Nitorin, calm down and breathe," Gerald said.

"How can I?! My son is missing and my wife is in danger!" Nitorin shouted.

"We all knew the risks that came with this test and so did she," Gerald said, "Dana is a strong hunter. She can endure whatever pain she is going through for two minutes. You must have faith in her."

"Grr…!" Nitorin hated being unable to help the people he loved. More than anything he wanted the power to turn back on so he could open the door and help Dana. More than anyone, he wants to find his son and figure out what's going on.

Meanwhile, Dana felt as if her entire left arm was being ripped off her body. The pain was unlike any pain she had experienced throughout her hunter life.

"…Dana…"

"…Who…are you…?" Dana grunted out.

"…Please…try to remember…your true lineage…"

"Get…out of my head…!"

"Therion…you must hurry…before it is too late…"

Then a series of unknown memories flashed through her within the blink of an eye, causing pain to her head, "AAAAAAH!"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _"Hero of Vastel, chosen by the sword forged in the Realm of Twilight…"_

 _"Good luck saving your own race, little Therion!"_

 _"Can you hear it yet…Therion?"_

 _"That's a really big deal! Protecting all of Vastel on our behalf…"_

 _"And stop following me!"_

 _"You be sure to protect him with your life."_

 _"We'll need to make preparations as soon as possible."_

 _"This one here is called The Passionate Rose."_

 _"Perhaps we could spend some time together."_

 _"I wonder then…would you have chosen a different path?"_

 _"I'm doing everything I can."_

 _"Please just tell me…what's wrong with me?!"_

 _"Then I shall go…and make my way to the chasm."_

 _"Everything I've done…it was all for nothing…"_

 _"Therion…you are our final hope. The fate of Vastel rests with you!"_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

Dana's mind went completely blank afterwards and her eyes lost their color. But her body was still able to move as if it was on autopilot. She looked at the sword in her hand and gripped it tightly.

The lights finally turned back on.

"Finally," Nitorin said as he looked back into the lab room, "Dana, are you—" He stopped in his tracks when he laid eyes on a horrible sight.

Dana had stabbed herself with the Grimm sword and blood was spraying out of her body.

"Oh my…" Gerald whispered.

"DANA!" Nitorin shouted, "OPEN THE DOOR NOW!"

The technicians quickly brought power back onto the control consoles and opened the door.

Nitorin bolted into the room like a bullet and grabbed a tight hold onto Dana, "DANA! DANA!" He screamed, "SOMEONE CALL THE HOSPITAL! QUICK!"

"You heard him!" Gerald shouted, "Call the—"

"I'm afraid we can't let you do that yet," Said a voice.

Gerald turned around and saw a group of armed gangsters with Drago and Zima at the front. In Drago's left arm was a tied up and unconscious Jurabi.

"Jurabi!" Gerald shouted.

"No one moves a damn muscle!" Zima shouted, "Give us Project Therion and the little one won't get hurt!"

"Zima, move all of them into a corner," Drago said, "I'll get the weapons."

"Yes, boss," Zima said, giving the signal to the gangsters to round up the workers into a single corner.

Drago entered the test chamber and was immediately shocked by the sight of Project Therion sticking out of Dana's chest.

"What in the world?" Drago asked.

"Who's there?!" Nitorin shouted as he turned to see Drago, with Jurabi in his arm, "Jurabi!"

"Nitorin Alisen," Drago said, "It's nice to finally meet you, although I wish it were under better circumstances."

"That symbol," Nitorin said, seeing the symbol of a komodo dragon on Drago's purple coat, "Drago Fuchou?!"

"So, you've heard of me?" Drago asked, "Not surprising since your company has been my target from time to time when it comes to thievery."

"How could I not know the name of the man who's supposedly been killed twice?" Nitorin asked, "You're the reason why half of Argyros City's criminals are still on the loose and why my company faced the financial crisis it is in right now."

"It's all good business, Alisen," Drago said, "You of all people should understand that."

"Enough!" Nitorin shouted, "Did you cause that power outage earlier?! What do you want?! If money is enough of a reason for you to attack my company, let me tell you that it's not worth it."

"Though robbing you of your money does sound like a good job for us to do, sadly that's not why we're here," Drago said, pointing at Dana, "We're here for Project Therion."

"Of course, you are…" Nitorin said, "But how in the world did you find out about it? It's supposed to be top secret."

"You'll have to ask my client that," Drago said, "My gang and I are operating on a need-to-know basis. Now hand over the weapons."

"Wait, if you pull out the sword, my wife will bleed out," Nitorin said, "Please, let us call the paramedics. Once we save her, I'll give you what you need as long as you let Jurabi go."

"As much as I am a man of my code, I cannot leave without that weapon in your wife's chest," Drago said, walking towards them.

But then, something unprecedented happened.

The Grimm sword in Dana's chest began to turn into dust as it went into the wound left in her chest.

"What?!" Drago asked.

"Oh no…" Nitorin said, worried that Dana's open wound will get worse.

But strangely enough, nothing happened. Blood stopped pouring from Dana's wound, and her eyes were still lifeless as is her body unable to move.

"What just happened?" Nitorin asked.

"Dammit…we lost one of the blades," Drago growled as he looked over to the second Grimm sword, "But I guess we'll take what we can get."

"Wait, don't touch that," Nitorin shouted as he watched Drago approach the other sword, "If you do, it will make you stab yourself just as it did to Dana!"

"What kind of ridiculous story is that?" Drago said as he picked up the sword with no worry. Nothing happened, "See? I'm doing just fine, but I respect the attempt to scare me."

"I'm not joking around! I saw it with my own eyes!" Nitorin shouted as he noticed Jurabi waking up.

"Hm, I never thought of you as the type to lie, Alisen," Drago said, "Then again, you are a lapdog of the Vastel Council. The apple sure doesn't fall far from the tree."

The first thing Jurabi saw when he woke up was the Grimm sword in Drago's right hand.

"…Therion…" A voice spoke in his head.

But unlike Dana, Jurabi's head didn't hurt. Instead, his eyes immediately became lifeless as he reached out and grabbed the sword with his right hand.

"Jurabi!" Nitorin shouted.

"What?!" Drago shouted as the black flames on the Grimm sword activated. He felt the heat on the hilt he was holding, forcing him to let go of the blade and of Jurabi, "Ah!" He screamed, rubbing his burned hand.

Nitorin wanted to rush over to Jurabi, but he didn't want to risk getting hit by the black flames coming from the Grimm sword.

"Impossible…" Nitorin said, "How…is Jurabi able to activate Project There's potential?"

The Grimm sword in Jurabi's hand grew similar sharp tubes from its sides and punctured Jurabi's right arm.

"AAAAAH!" Jurabi screamed in pain as he squirmed on the floor.

"Jurabi!" Nitorin shouted, "No…not again!"

"What is happening to him, Alisen?!" Drago asked, "I was never told anything about this!"

"I…I don't know!" Nitorin said, "It could be…that like Dana, the weapon is…trying to become a part of him."

"A part of him?" Drago asked.

"D-daddy…" Jurabi whispered

"Jurabi…are you…" Nitorin then saw that the skin on Jurabi's hands were changing from white to pitch black as if a virus was spreading onto his body, "Oh no…"

"Daddy…I don't…feel good…" Jurabi whispered as tears began falling from his eyes as he began seeing terrible visions, "What is this I'm seeing?! So many people…getting hurt…!"

"Jurabi, you need to put down Project Therion and come over to me," Nitorin said, extending his hand.

Jurabi's visions got worse as he saw monsters killing people in them, "D-Daddy…what is this?!"

"Breathe, Jurabi," Nitorin said, "Daddy's right here. Just put the weapon down, okay?"

"I don't think your son is listening to you, Alisen," Drago said.

"I-I can't…" Jurabi whispered as the dark matter on his arms was continuing to spread up to his shoulders.

Nitorin had a guess on what could be happening to Jurabi, "Jurabi, I need you to listen to me carefully."

"Huh?" Jurabi asked.

"I'm going to walk over to you and take Project Therion from your hands," Nitorin said as he put on a pair of protective gloves, "You have to be brave in this moment. If you calm your emotions down, whatever is happening to you will likely calm down with it."

"But…what's happening to me?" Jurabi asked.

"It would be better if you didn't know right now," Nitorin said, "Just take in deep breaths and keep looking at me and nothing else, got it?"

"…O-Okay…" Jurabi said as he began to take in deep breaths. However, nothing was working. No matter how calm Jurabi was, the flames only got worse and worse to the point where both him, his father, and even Drago began sweating bullets and coughing.

"It's no good," Drago said, "If this keeps up, we'll all die of heatstroke!"

"We can't stay too long, Jurabi," Nitorin said as he began walking over to Jurabi, "Keep trying. Don't give into your fear."

"I'm trying, Daddy…" Jurabi said, frustrated at the fact that nothing was working and that things were getting worse by the second, "But I can't!"

"Yes, you can, Jurabi," Nitorin said, "I believe in you. If you are brave enough to stand up to bullies at your school, you are brave enough to fight this."

"Daddy…" Jurabi whispered.

"I'm here for you until the very end," Nitorin said, giving Jurabi a reassuring smile.

"…" Jurabi suddenly felt pain coursing through his head, "AAAAAH!"

"Jurabi!" Nitorin shouted.

"More terrible images!" Jurabi shouted, "Make it stop, Daddy! Make it stop!"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _"I don't think anyone would be able to replace you as my close companion."_

 _"Not even the children survived."_

 _"She is an important person in my life! I cannot do it!"_

 _"...She did all of this for me, didn't she…?"_

 _"You have become the very thing you swore to destroy."_

 _"We have failed you…I…failed you."_

 _"You were the most precious person in my life! I loved you!"_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

Jurabi's eyes became lifeless just like Dana's.

Seeing this as a bad sign, Nitorin tried calling out to him again, "Jurabi, please stay with me."

"They're all dead…" Jurabi whispered, "They must be stopped…"

"Jurabi?" Nitorin asked.

"…The…Therions…must…return…" Jurabi muttered as he raised the blade in his hand and pointed it at his chest.

"What in the world is this kid talking about?" Drago asked.

"Wait, Jurabi, stop!" Nitorin shouted, realizing what Jurabi was trying to do, "DON'T DO IT!"

"For…the Guardians…for…the Therions…" Jurabi said as he stabbed himself with the sword, causing his blood to splatter all over the place.

"NO!" Nitorin screamed as he ran to Jurabi, not caring about the dangers of the fire on the blade. He held his son close to his arms, "JURABI!"

The sword disappeared into Jurabi's wound just as it did for Dana. Afterwards, no more blood was lost from his body.

"What in the world just happened?" Drago asked.

"…Jurabi, hang on, please," Nitorin said to Jurabi's unconscious body.

"Boss Drago!" Zima shouted.

"Yeah, Zima?" Drago asked.

"We can't stay any longer," Zima said, "The cops are on their way!"

"Damnit, we lost both of our targets!" Drago shouted as he looked over at Nitorin, who was glaring at him.

"You! None of this would have happened if it weren't for you and your thugs!" Nitorin shouted angrily at him.

"…I was just doing my job my client is paying me for," Drago said, "It's your fault for playing with such a dangerous weapon in the first place."

"Playing?! You call ten years' worth of research and development, 'playing'?!" Nitorin shouted.

"In this world, you either learn your place and accept it, or die trying to be a god," Drago said, "Whatever it was you were trying to do with that weapon, it was never going to work. And this should be proof of that," He then turned to Nitorin and sighed, "Regardless, I hope those two can survive this. They didn't deserve what happened to them."

"Spare me your pity!" Nitorin shouted.

"…Of course," Drago said as he left the testing room, "Let's go, men. We're done here."

"Yes, Boss!" The gang members shouted as they followed Drago and Zima out of the building through a secret escape route Zima found.

"Mr. Alisen!" Shouted a group of scientists who came into the room, "Are you okay?!"

"Don't worry about me, everyone," Nitorin said, "Someone call the hospital, quick."

"Dad!" Elise shouted as she ran into the room only to see the horrible sight of blood everywhere and Dana and Jurabi unconscious, "Oh my god…What happened to them?!"

Nitorin couldn't bring himself to revisit the horrible sight he saw and instead held both Dana and Jurabi's bodies close to him as tears fell from his eyes, "I'm sorry…I'm so…so sorry! I shouldn't have dragged either of you into this!"

Gerald and a team of scientists were busy checking the instruments on the control panel for any malfunction issues.

But the machines at his work didn't matter to Nitorin right now. He ordered his workers to speak nothing of this issue and to continue work as usual while keeping him posted on updates.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Argyros Hospital: 8 Hours Later~~_

Nitorin, along with Elise, took Jurabi and Dana to the Argyros Hospital so a doctor could perform a check up on both of them.

First, the doctor assigned to check up on them performed several x-ray tests and bodily verifications, such as looking into his mouth, eyes, and nerve coordination. Once he was finished, he placed both of them in the resting ward and walked out to the waiting area where Nitorin and Elise patiently waited.

"Mr. Alisen, I've done a thorough check on your son and wife," The doctor said.

Nitorin looked at Elise in worry before looking back at the doctor, "And?"

The doctor sighed as he gestured to Nitorin to come with him.

Nitorin nodded and turned to Elise, "I'll be right back, sweetie."

"Okay…" Elise said, her voice sounding worn out from everything that has happened.

Nitorin followed the doctor into his office and sat down on the other side of his desk.

There was a brief moment of silence before he began talking, "Physically, your son and wife are stable. Aside from fatigue, they should be fine once they take a week's worth of rest here."

"Okay," Nitorin said, "But…"

"Please let me finish," The doctor interrupted before he handed Nitorin an analysis on Jurabi and Dana, "Here's where things get worse. We detected an anomaly in their blood."

"An anomaly?" Nitorin asked.

"Their blood. It's completely changed from what it was before," The doctor said pointing at the analysis on the blood, "When we took a sample of their blood, it was pitch black."

"Pitch black?! What?!" Nitorin asked, in shock, "But…they spilt red blood not too long ago! A-And they had a sword plunged through their chest! A-a-a-and….wha…?!"

"That's not all," The doctor said, "Their brains seem to have suffered immense damage. Mostly to the amygdala, the part of the brain tasked with regulating emotions, such as fear and aggression."

"What will happen to them when they wake up with that kind of damage?" Nitorin asked.

The doctor's eyes turned away from Nitorin's before he answered, "They will become emotionally numb. The only emotions they will be able to feel are fear, anger, and maybe sadness if they are lucky; however, they may express those emotions in a stronger manner than humans normally do."

Nitorin's eyes became lifeless after hearing that, "No…" He whispered as his tears covered his cheeks. He then covered his face into his hands, "NOOO!"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Location: Unknown~~_

In an unspecified location, Drago was speaking to Deathwatch after his mission, clearly angry at the lack of information given to him.

"I demand an explanation, Deathwatch!" Drago shouted, "What the hell was that I just saw with this "Project Therion"?!"

"I am afraid I do not know what you are talking about, Fuchou," Deathwatch said.

"Don't play dumb!" Drago shouted, "Both Nitorin's wife and son went crazy when they touched the weapons and stabbed themselves with it! Not only that, but the weapons disappeared afterwards and as we're hearing now on the news, both of them are somehow not dead! What the absolute FUCK is going on?!"

"…What did you say?" Deathwatch asked.

"You heard me!" Drago said, "What the fuck is going on?!"

"No, the last part," Deathwatch said specifically.

"...That Nitorin's wife and son somehow didn't die after stabbing themselves with Project Therion?" Drago asked.

A long silence followed afterwards.

"…Hello? Earth to Deathwatch?" Drago called.

"…What is their hair color," Deathwatch said.

"Hair color?" Drago asked.

"The hair color of Mr. Alisen's wife and son, and tell me their names too," Deathwatch said.

"Well…the wife's name was…Dana, if I recall, and the kid was Jurabi," Drago said, "Both of them had black hair and I think on the edges of their hair had red highlights of sorts."

"…So…the Therions were not wiped out completely after all," Deathwatch said.

"What?" Drago said.

"We're done here, Fuchou," Deathwatch said, "Though you were unable to bring us the weapons, you brought us something far more valuable through your failure, and so, here's your reward: Half of the information promised to you."

"Seriously?! Half?!" Drago asked, "We risked our necks in that giant building. I nearly got burnt alive and you only give me half."

"Be thankful I am giving you anything at all," Deathwatch said, "If you were anyone else, I would have sent someone to kill you for your failure. Now, farewell, Drago, and one advice from me to you: Leave Argyros City."

"Leave? How come?" Drago asked, but Deathwatch ended the call before he could ask any further.

"Boss, what do we do?" Zima asked.

"…We got the information we need," Drago asked, "Or at least half of it. Head back to the hideout and get ready to leave. I still have some unfinished business, first."

"Yes, Boss," Zima said as she and the gang members make their way to their hideout.

Drago was alone, but looked up at the sky and thought about what had transpired, "Project Therion….the fact that those two survived…and something about the Therions not being wiped out…I thought this was just a usual thief job…"

…

…

…

"But the Drago Gang may have put its nose into something really big."

* * *

 **Jurabi Therion: Heeeeeellooooooo~~! This is Jurabi Therion, bringing you another chapter of the World of Vastel. This chapter in particular is the remake version of the third chapter and I made quite a lot of changes.**

 **Originally, Jurabi's mother wasn't affected at all by Project Therion, but in this remake she made contact with the weapons and also lost her emotions along with Jurabi.**

 **And in the original, the negative effects of being in contact with Project Therion are there instantly, so both Jurabi and Dana both lost their positive emotions.**

 **I'm sorry for all the long treck going through all these chapters. I think the next chapter will take a bit longer because I made some really big, fundamental changes that I need to see through in the next chapter, so I hope you look forward to that.**

 **Anyways, guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter! If you did, please let me know in the reviews and leave a favorite and a follow and also join me on my own discord server to have a nice chat. Thank you very much for reading. See you next chapter~!**

 **Discord: (h) (t) (t) (p) (s) : / / discord . gg / yds39Vc**


	4. Therion Arc Chp 4: Fractured Family

**Therion Arc Chp. 4: Fractured Family**

 _~~Bao's Café December 15, 2990 (Evening)~~_

Nitorin let out an exhausted sigh before taking another ship of Bao's special tea. He was hoping to calm himself down after the incident with Project Therion yesterday and from the stress he's had for his wife and son.

"Dad…are you sure Jurabi and Mom will be okay," Elise asked, seeing the guilt written all over her father's face.

Ever since yesterday, Nitorin had tried his best to keep a positive attitude with Elise, telling her everything would be fine and that Jurabi and Dana would be better, but he never told her what the doctor told him. Nitorin tried to make a fake smile, but he was too worn out to do so.

"…To tell you the truth, I don't know, Elise…" Nitorin said, staring lifelessly at the tea in front of him, "I keep telling myself that everything will eventually go back to normal—that what happened to Jurabi and your mother was just a bad dream…but I don't think we'll be that lucky."

"But what exactly happened to them?" Elise asked, "Could you please tell me?"

"…It's better that you don't know, Elise," Nitorin said.

"But Dad!" Elise shouted.

"I meant what I said!" Nitorin shouted back, "Maybe one day I will tell you when all of this blows over but…" He let out a sigh, "But not now."

"Dad…" Elise whispered, feeling as though her father was starting to push her away.

Bao, who had finished washing the dishes, walked over to Nitorin and Elise. Seeing the distressed look on the man's face and the heartbroken expression his daughter was making made his heart drop, "Tea's not working, is it?" He asked Nitorin.

Elise only shook, "No, but thanks for letting us in here on such short notice, Mr. Ludgen."

Bao sat down on a bar stool across from Nitorin and Elise before saying, "Hey, it's no problem at all. In fact, I'm glad you came around when you did. Business today's been slow thanks to that strange power outage."

"Yeah…sorry about that," Nitorin said, still looking down at his tea.

"Why are you apologizing? Did your company have something to do with it?" Bao asked.

"You could say that," Nitorin said, choosing to be ambiguous with his answers, even to Bao, "Let's say that one bad thing happened after another."

"If you wish to talk about it, I'm all ears, old friend," Bao said, "No need to worry about me going to some shady businesses or anything."

"Maybe one day, but not now," Nitorin said, taking a sip of his tea, "What I will say is that I put my son and wife into a horrible state."

"Ah, that's right…your wife and your son…" Bao said, "I'm sorry that happened."

"It was all my fault," Nitorin said, "If I hadn't done what I did, Jurabi and Dana would have been safe."

"Dad, whatever happened, I'm sure it's not your fault," Elise said, "Please don't blame yourself!"

"I think I understand what's going on," Bao said, "You look even more tired than you usually do."

"Do I?" Nitorin asked.

"Yeah. You never showed it, but I can tell you always had this look of fatigue and near depression," Bao said, "It felt like I was watching a man die. I'm sorry that this happened to you, Nitorin. I really am."

"So, you noticed too," Nitorin said, "My wife told me the same thing one time I went home super late."

"Honestly, I'm surprised you've kept your sanity through all these 10 years doing whatever it was you were doing," Bao said.

"What do you think I should do, Bao?" Nitorin asked, hoping for guidance of some kind, "Tomorrow I have to make a public statement about what happened with the power outage, but I don't even know what to do now."

"First off, you need to make sure everything is right with your son and wife," Bao said, "I'm sure that they'll live through this and you can all be a family again. That is what should always come first in situations like these."

"The old man has a point," Elise said.

"Old?!" Bao asked, annoyed that Elise called him that.

"Mom and Jurabi are still alive, so why don't we be thankful for that, Dad?" Elise said.

"Yeah," Nitorin said, "They are alive. And maybe things can be better…" He looked up from his tea with a smile, "Thanks, Bao. You too, Elise."

"No problem," Bao said, "As for the things beyond your family, I'm not a PR expert, but I will say this: Don't let the council have such a grip on the choices that you alone should make."

"Huh?" Nitorin asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Hmm…how should I put this?" Bao asked before taking a look at Nitorin's tea, "Take your tea, for example."

"My tea?" Nitorin asked, looking at his green tea.

"Now, when you came in here, you asked for this specific green tea out of the rest on the menu," Bao said, "After receiving your order, I had a choice: I either give you the right tea, or intentionally give you the wrong tea."

"O…kay…" Nitorin said, raising an eyebrow, "But why is giving me the wrong tea an option? It's common knowledge to give a customer what they order."

"Yes, for a company," Bao said, "Bao's is run by me and me alone. I've had my share of messing up disrespectful customers' orders on purpose. Now why do you think I decide to do that instead of putting up a fake smile like other café owners do?"

"…Because you chose to do so?" Elise asked.

"Exactly, little one," Bao said.

"Who are you calling, little?!" Elise asked, angrily.

"Bao, you do realize that acting that way is the reason your cafe will never get the five-star rating it deserves, right?" Nitorin asked.

"You think I wasn't aware of the consequences of my actions?" Bao asked with a sly smirk, "Nitorin, my point is that all of your life choices should never be dictated by any outside force. Corrupted people of high authority may tell you to do what they say, but that doesn't mean you only have the one option of doing what they tell you. You also have the choice to disobey."

"That's an irresponsible saying," Nitorin said.

"It depends on who says it and acts upon it," Bao said, "If you know that order is going to harm innocent people, why do it at all? Crappy orders like such are why I quit being a hunter to begin with."

"Hunters aren't bad people, Bao," Nitorin said, "You were in the wrong crowd."

"There shouldn't have been a wrong crowd to begin with," Bao said with a glare on his face that wasn't directed towards Nitorin or Elise, "But I digress, go home Nitorin and make things better with your son. From what I've heard from you, he seems to be a good kid, and it would be sad for him to live his life without being able to talk to his parents again."

"Yeah, you're right," Nitorin said before he and Elise finished their tea and paid Bao's fee, "Thank you for the tea, and for listening to me, Bao."

"It's no problem," Bao said with a smile, "But unfortunately I'm going to be gone for the next few weeks."

"Really? How come?" Elise asked.

"I'm going to be visiting my wife for our anniversary," Bao said, "Don't worry, I already have someone on standby ready to hold down the fort here."

"Well then, I wish you the best, Bao," Nitorin said with a smile.

"Same to you," Bao said.

"Oh yeah, before I forget, Jurabi's birthday is coming up next month in January," Nitorin said, "I think he would love to meet the man who makes the best food and drinks in Vastel."

"Oh stop," Bao said, rubbing his head shyly, "I don't do well with compliments like that."

"I'm serious," Nitorin said, "Heck, you could be a great uncle for him. Anyways, see you tomorrow." With that, Nitorin picked up his things and left Bao's café with Elise.

Bao let out a smile at the thought of being an uncle to someone, "Uncle, huh?" He looked at his watch, which read the time: 10:00 p.m. and let out a sigh, "Guess it's about that time…"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Vastel Kingdom: Vastel Academy~~_

Vastel Academy, a large academy that trains and houses Vastel's hunters and elites.

The director of this academy and reigning king, Elcrest Niamota was called to the observation room where hunters observe all four regions of Vastel for Grimm disturbances.

Once he arrived, he was immediately met with the chief officer in charge of security.

"What did you call me out here for, chief?" Elcrest asked.

"Well, Your Majesty, our sensors have uncovered something disturbing in Argyros City," The chief officer said.

"Disturbing how?" Elcrest asked.

"It's better to show it to you," The chief said as he brought up a screen that showed a radar map of Argyros City. The map was time stamped at 1200 hours (12 p.m.) with a red mark being visible around the Therion Industries building.

"Could that be…?" Elcrest asked.

"Yes," The chief said, "Sensors seemed to have picked up two Grimm signatures in Argyros City before the power outage. But these signatures….are unlike any we've seen before."

"This is not an error in the system, is it?" Elcrest asked.

"We're running a double check and diagnosis on the equipment as we speak," The chief officer said.

"But we may not have time…" Elcrest said to himself, "I'll call all available hunters here soon. We will need to verify the threat of a Grimm attack. If there is a Grimm, we'll dispatch it swiftly and silently. Let me know if there are any updates to your investigation."

"Yes, Your Majesty," The chief officer said.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Argyros Hospital: One Week Later~~_

 _~~December 21, 2990~~_

After several days of needed rest, both Dana and Jurabi had recovered and were brought to the waiting room where Nitorin and Elise waited.

"Mom! Jurabi!" Elise shouted as she rushed over to hug Jurabi.

Nitorin tried his hardest to fight back the happy tears, but they fell down his cheeks as he hugged Dana tightly, "Thank god you two are okay."

"N-Nitorin, Elise…what happened…?" Dana asked.

"Ah, well…I'll explain once we get home," Nitorin said, "How are you feeling?"

"My head still aches, but I'm feeling okay," Dana said, rubbing her head.

"Jurabi! I'm so happy that you're better!" Elise shouted, hugging Jurabi.

"…" Jurabi was silent.

"Jurabi?" Elise asked, looking into Jurabi's eyes, "Can you hear me? It's me, your sister who you hate so much, Elise."

"…" But no words came out of Jurabi's mouth.

"Jurabi?" Nitorin asked, crouching down to check on Jurabi, but to his shock, he noticed that there was no color in his eyes at all, "What happened to your eyes?"

"Um…Mr. Alisen," Said the doctor who brought Dana and Jurabi to the waiting room, "I must speak with you."

"Sure," Nitorin said, turning to Elise, "Elise…"

"No!" Elise shouted, "I want to hear what's happened to Jurabi and Mom!"

"Elise, please understand that—"

"With all due respect, Mr. Alisen, I believe she deserves to know as well," The doctor said, "She is your daughter, after all."

"…" Nitorin hesitated for a moment before asking Elise, "Are you ready for whatever cold hard truth the doctor has to say?"

"Yes, I am," Elise said.

Nitorin let out a sigh as he nodded to the doctor.

"Please follow me," The doctor said as he led both of them into his room. Once they've sat down, he let out a sigh, "Here is the good news and the bad news. The good news is that both Dana and Jurabi have fully recovered. "Your wife's condition became better, but there are signs of lingering fatigue. On top of that, as predicted, her ability to express emotions dulled down; however, after several diagnostic tests, we've determined that her emotions can be restored with time. As long as she isn't strained emotionally, those positive emotions will return."

"Oh, thank god," Nitorin said, breathing a little sigh of relief, but then realizing that the doctor hasn't said anything good about Jurabi, "Wait…what about Jurabi?"

"…That's where the bad news come in. In fact, I believe things with your son are far worse than words can describe," The doctor explained.

"What happened?" Elise asked, her heart racing fast and her nerves shaking.

"Jurabi's condition worsened during his time here," The doctor said.

"Worsened how?" Nitorin asked.

"Compared to Dana's amygdala, Jurabi's has been damaged beyond repair," The doctor said, "Usually, damage to the amygdala is due to extreme stress put onto the brain thus causing problems in expressing emotions. But now…it seems Jurabi is also suffering muteness."

"Muteness?" Elise asked.

"Yes," The doctor explained, "We can't pinpoint the exact cause of it, but we do have an idea based on the observation of the nurses that worked night shift."

"What happened at night?" Nitorin asked.

"As reported by the nurses, every single night, Jurabi has had nightmares," The doctor explained, "He would end up screaming as if he was in pain, causing the nurses to come to his ward and place him under sedatives to calm him down."

"All of this was happening and you didn't tell me?!" Nitorin asked.

"Please, Mr. Alisen, we were trying our best to ensure your son's recovery was successful," The doctor defended himself, "We didn't want to put stress on your or your son."

"Do you have any idea what Jurabi might have been dreaming about?" Elise asked.

"No, we do not," The doctor said, shaking his head, "Any questions we asked Jurabi were met with silence."

Nitorin sat in silence as he remembered what Jurabi said last week at Alisen Industries.

 _"_ _Daddy…I don't…feel good…What is this I'm seeing?! So many people…getting hurt…!"_

"Do you have any questions for me, Mr. Alisen?" The doctor asked.

"Yes, what about the black blood you found?" Nitorin asked.

 _"_ _Black blood?"_ Elise thought.

"Ah, yes," The doctor said, "Day one we took samples of the blood of your wife and son and sent them to the lab for testing. They recently came back and they detected no major changes to their bodies."

"Really?" Nitorin asked.

"Yes," The doctor said, reading over the papers, "It's extraordinary, really. To my knowledge, they stabbed themselves with Project Therion, correct?"

"They what?!" Elise screamed.

"Shit…" Nitorin whispered, realizing that both he and the doctor just spilt the secret to his daughter.

"Oh, my bad," The doctor said, "You never told your daughter, did you, Mr. Alisen?"

"No, he didn't!" Elise said glaring at Nitorin.

"I-I'll explain everything when we get home, Elise, I promise," Nitorin said.

"You better," Elise said, clearly angry at her father.

"I'm…sorry for all that's happened to you," The doctor said, "If anything strange begins to occur with your wife and son, please notify us immediately."

"Thank you very much," Nitorin said as he and Elise left the office and went back to the waiting room where Dana and Jurabi were.

Dana had Jurabi resting in her arms. She was trying as hard as she could to get Jurabi to respond to her calls, but to no avail, "My baby boy…why won't he speak to me…?"

Nitorin tried his hardest not to break, but he turned away as tears fell down his eyes, "T-Time to go home."

"Dad…." Elise whispered as she glanced at Jurabi, who was sleeping with an emotionless face, something that made her heart drop because she always saw Jurabi sleep with a peaceful smile.

 _~~Alisen Residence (Nighttime)~~_

After Dana took Jurabi to sleep, she returned to the living room and sat down on the couch with Nitorin and Elise.

Nitorin then explained everything to Elise about Project Therion, its purpose, and what happened to Dana and Jurabi.

"My god…you let Mom do something so dangerous?!" Elise asked.

"Elise, it was my decision to go through with it," Dana said, "I knew that there were going to be consequences.

"Even so…you should have tried to find a better way to do what you did," Elise said, "Now both Mom and Jurabi can't feel emotions as a result of all of this! Jurabi can't smile anymore!"

"Elise! That's enough!" Dana shouted.

"No…she's right," Nitorin said, "I shouldn't have started that project to begin with. If I knew that it would end up hurting my wife and son, I would have never gone through with it."

"Nitorin…" Dana said.

"Now…we're left with nothing. No way to fight the Zenith Grimm, and no way to take back our world," Nitorin said, his eyes losing their color.

"Nitorin, please," Dana said, placing a hand on her husband's shoulder, "Please don't push all the blame on yourself."

"But…your happiness…yours and Jurabi's wonderful smiles," Nitorin said, tears starting to form in his eyes, "They're all gone because of me! What kind of man would take away something so precious away from the people he's supposed to keep safe?!" Nitorin then collapsed into Dana's arms and began to sob endlessly.

"Dad…I…" Elise whispered.

"Elise, it's time for you to go to bed now," Dana said.

"But I—"

"Please," Dana said, rubbing Nitorin's back, "Your father and I need to be alone."

"…" Elise looked at the ground in guilt before she slowly turned and headed into her room.

Dana was alone with Nitorin. Each sob she heard from him stung her heart with more needles. She knows that all Nitorin wanted was for humanity to have their world back after having it taken from them and for Jurabi and Elise to have a bright future.

Humanity had lived under fear of the Grimm for over two thousand years. Although the Grimm do not attack cities directly, their presence makes travel extremely dangerous, requiring hunter escort at all times. But there was always that lingering fear of the possibility of Grimm moving to attack cities. The people have grown weary of this fear due to the increase in Grimm activity and appearance of stronger and deadly Grimm types.

More than anything, Nitorin didn't want his children growing up with such a fear. He wanted Jurabi and Elise to live happy lives, but that wish is now but a distant memory.

"…I'm so sorry, Dana…" Nitorin whispered as he broke away from Dana, realizing how long he had been crying, "I didn't mean to show all of that to you."

Dana wasn't able to smile, but she put her hand on his cheek, "You have nothing to apologize for, dear. Cry for as long as you need to. I will always be here for you."

"Dana…" Nitorin whispered as he buried himself in her embrace again.

After the silence had passed, Nitorin wiped off his tears and asked, "I know you already answered this, but are you sure you're okay, Dana? Your emotions…"

"I can't feel them anymore," Dana said, "I felt…sadness when Jurabi wouldn't talk to me, but more than that I was happy that he was alive and safe…but I couldn't show it. Every parent in the hospital looked at me as if I was an unloving monster."

"Dana," Nitorin held his wife's hands, "You are not a monster. You just…can't feel emotions anymore, but that doesn't change who you are."

"Then what happened to me?" Dana said, "How did I lose my emotions?"

"You…you don't remember?" Nitorin asked, "You and Jurabi stabbed yourselves with Project Therion."

"We…we did?" Dana asked, "But how am I still alive, then?"

"I don't know, but I don't care, to be honest," Nitorin said as he hugged Dana, "I'm just glad you're both safe."

"As am I," Dana said.

"But there is one thing I want to know," Nitorin said, "Dana, have you been having strange dreams while in the hospital?"

"Dreams…yes I have," Dana said.

"Could you tell me what they were about?" Nitorin asked, "I'm asking because Jurabi's nightmares might be the cause of his muteness."

"…I'm afraid I can't tell what is going on in my dreams," Dana explained, "No matter how many times I revisit those dreams, it always feels random. I never understand where I am, nor do I know the context of these dreams. All I hear are the words of different voices, but one voice stood out to me."

"One?" Nitorin asked.

"A man's voice," Dana clarified, "He sounded like she was calling to me—pleading to me, even. No matter what happens during the dream, it always ended with him speaking to me."

"What did this man tell you?" Nitorin asked.

"…He mentioned a name of sorts," Dana said "Therion, I think."

"Therion?!" Nitorin asked in shock, "You mean the followers of the Dark Guardian?"

"Yes," Dana said, "But maybe it's all just a dream."

"I don't think it's possible to just dream up the name of the bloodline from two thousand years ago," Nitorin said, "Then again, my company and I did name our project after them."

"I'm sorry, I wish I had more for you," Dana said.

"It's alright, Dana," Nitorin said with a smile, "And thank you for tonight. You really helped me at my weakest and…I don't think I'll ever be able to properly repay you."

"All I need is your love, Nitorin," Dana said, "Now how about we get some sleep? We'll talk about what to do with Jurabi once we've rested up."

"Of course," Nitorin said as he and Dana went to sleep.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Residence~~_

 _~~December 24, 2990~~_

One week had passed.

Things in the Alisen family were not as bright as they were before. Jurabi's condition had not improved. He still remained silent and his eyes had not returned to their bright color.

To his parents, it felt like they were watching a lifeless zombie wondering aimlessly.

Dana was no different, even though she is still able to interact with other people. Her fellow hunters are the first to notice the change in her behavior and mannerisms. Every time she is asked what happened, Dana only tells them that she was feeling under the weather and that she would be better with rest, but she knew that was never going to happen.

On Nitorin's end, he had to make a public statement about the blackout that had occurred in the day of the incident. He did not disclose information on Project Therion nor on what happened to Dana or Jurabi. Instead, he lied and told the public that it was a malfunction that caused Alisen Industries to affect the power flow of the entire city.

Until Nitorin has a talk with the Hunter Council about the failure of Project Therion, he has to live with this lie he told.

Elise did not show it, but she took the changes the hardest. To her, it felt like the entire family suddenly changed for the worse.

She could notice the stress building up with her father and her mother tried her best to make him feel better. But the worst blow to her was Jurabi. Even though she found him annoying, she never wished anything bad on him. Every attempt to make conversation with him was met with silence and a blank stare.

Today, Elise thought there would be something that would snap Jurabi out of it.

She walked into his room and saw him sitting on the bed, silent and emotionless.

"Hey, little bro~!" Elise chimed with a smile as she hid her hands behind her back, "How are you feeling?"

"…"

"That's great to hear," Elise said, "My day was good as well. I took a little trip to the mall with my friends and I got a little something special for you~!" She then brought her hands to the front and showed Jurabi a box wrapped in a decorative paper, "Ta-da~! It's a Christmas present!"

"…"

"Hehe, I know…It was cruel of me to just show you a Christmas box when I was hinting at something special," Elise said, sticking her tongue out, "But believe me when I say that what's inside this box is going to knock your socks off!"

"…"

"So…so look forward to it," Elise said, her voice breaking a little, "I don't want to hear you complain about it sucking, alright? I spent like fifty dollars on it!"

"…"

"…Hey…Jurabi…" Elise whispered, as tears started forming in my eyes, "I…I kept telling myself to not ask you this, but…I need to know…" She looked into Jurabi's eyes, "Do…do you hate me?"

"…"

"I-I know I can be a bit too much to handle…well…I can be _exactly_ too much to handle," Elise began as the tears fell down her cheeks, "I made fun of you liking machines and weapons…I made fun of your grades, calling you a nerd…I even joked about how you'll never have a girl like you because you would love a machine more. You would retaliate by saying some similar insult to me and we would have at it back and forth until mother shouted at us to stop and make up."

"…"

"But do you want to know the worst part of all?" Elise asked as she looked at the floor in shame, "…If this didn't happen to you…I wouldn't have regretted any of those awful things I said to you."

"…"

"Jurabi…please," Elise said, "Please yell at me! Get angry with me! Do anything! I'm begging you!"

"…"

"I'm…I'm such a horrible sister!" Elise shouted, "I should have done more to prevent this! If I had paid more attention…we wouldn't have gotten separated and…I…"

"Elise," Said a voice.

Elise quickly turned around and saw Dana at the doorway holding a plate of food in her hands, "M-mom…I…"

"I'm sorry," Dana said, "I thought Jurabi was alone. He needs to eat, after all."

After Dana fed Jurabi and let him rest, she took Elise out to the living room to talk.

"…Did you…?" Elise asked.

"Yes, I heard everything," Dana said, placing a hand on Elise's hand, "Elise, no one is immune to making mistakes. Not even the strongest of us."

"B-but even still…the things I said to Jurabi—" Elise whispered.

"Are words you can never take back," Dana finished, "I know that. Your mistakes will never go away; in fact, it's better that they stay in your memory so you won't recreate them again. What I am telling you, here and now, is that despite everything, you are still Jurabi's big sister, and right now Jurabi needs his big sister more than ever."

"Does he really need someone like me as his older sister?" Elise asked.

"…Will you be asking that question when your father and I leave this world—when we leave the two of you behind?" Dana asked.

Elise's eyes widened as she stared at her mother.

"Your father and I won't be around forever," Dana said, "In this world overrun with Grimm, there is no guarantee for tomorrow—especially for a huntress like myself. If your father and I were to die and never return to this house, will you still be doubting yourself while your little brother remains silent and unable to feel ever again?!"

"…Mom," Elise whispered, unsure of how to feel about what Dana just told her.

Dana let out a sigh. She wanted to hug her daughter, but her body wouldn't move. It may well be because of her lack of positive emotions that she's coming across as cold to her daughter when most of her lectures would work wonders.

"I'm sorry, Elise," Dana said, "It seems I can't council you as well as I could before. So let me say this: Eventually, everyone will have someone who depends on them. It doesn't matter if you are ready for the responsibility or not, there will be people who will depend on you. And your brother is one of them, Elise. If the day comes when your father and I can no longer be around, I am counting on you to do what you think is best for him, because that is what your father and I are doing for both of you."

"…I…I understand," Elise said, "But Mom, I don't think Jurabi will do well if he lost either of you. So please, when you're doing your hunting…please come back to us."

Dana nodded, "I will. No matter what happens, I promise to come back to you," That was when Dana's phone started ringing, "I'll speak with you later. I need to take this."

"Okay," Elise said as she watched her mother walk away, "…Do what I think is best for Jurabi…"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Evening~~_

Nitorin returned to the Alisen residence with his hands full with a tower of Christmas gifts that looked on the brink of falling. Thankfully, he managed to reach his destination and set the tower down before it fell.

Nitorin breathed out a sigh of relief before announcing, "I'm back."

"Ah, that was quick," Dana said, packing some essential items into her work bag.

"Yeah…finding gifts for the kids was really difficult this time around," Nitorin said, scratching his head, "Where are the kids?"

"Asleep," Dana finished, "Without the bedtime story for Jurabi… _again_ ," She said, putting emphasis on the last word.

"Dana, I'm sorry," Nitorin said, looking down at the floor in shame.

"Why are you apologizing to me?" Dana asked, crossing her arms, "I believe Jurabi deserves that more than I do."

"Yes, he does," Nitorin said, bringing his head up again, "It's just…ever since the Project Therion failure, the Hunter Council has been at me non-stop. I'm so thankful for Gerald for doing his best to mitigate the damage to our reputation, but…"

"…" Dana was silent as she put down her black bag on the kitchen counter.

"Honestly, Dana, I'm scared right now," Nitorin said, "Not of myself, not even of the whole world…I'm scared for Jurabi and Elise's future. Ever since that day, I've been getting the same nightmares you have had. The images of them being killed by a Grimm…Project Therion would have prevented all of that. But it's all gone…and the Grimm will still be here killing as they please! I-I don't know what to do anymore…"

Dana interrupted Nitorin with a tight hug.

Shocked by Dana's sudden showing of affection, Nitorin stood still, processing what he should do next. Like any loving husband, the first thing he did was return the hug his wife had given him.

"It's okay, Nitorin," Dana said, "You've done all that you can and I couldn't be any happier. Focus more on our kids. They may need you more than they will need me."

"What do you mean?" Nitorin asked.

"I've been called by Vastel Academy," Dana said, "It seems that there's an urgent mission for the hunters stationed at this city. I have a feeling that this will be my last mission for a long while."

"Last mission?!" Nitorin asked, already fearing the worst-case scenario.

"I don't mean it like I'm going to die or anything," Dana said, "This is a secret between us, okay?"

"Dana, what are you—" Nitorin said.

"I'll be going on my own secret mission once I am finished with this one," Dana said, "I don't know how long it will take or if I'll be able to finish it."

Nitorin's body froze when he heard that statement, "What…?!"

"…I'm sorry, honey…" Dana said with a guilty expression, "I know this is sudden."

"But…why?!" Nitorin asked, "You had just returned from Vastel Kingdom after seven months, and now you're going to leave your kids again?"

"Please, I have a reason," Dana said, "I know what I am about to do is something no parent should ever do, but…I feel this is bigger than this family."

"What do you mean?" Nitorin asked.

"Remember the what I told you before?" Dana asked, "About what happened before I stabbed myself?"

"You said you saw memories and heard a man's voice," Nitorin said.

"The more time I spent thinking about those memories, the more I'm starting to think that they were real," Dana said, "In one of them, the man said he was going to the chasm."

Nitorin's eyes widened before he said, "The Chasm of Black Souls. You mean to go there?!"

"That's one of the places I will go to, yes," Dana said.

"Are you insane?!" Nitorin asked, "That place is forbidden to every breathing human in Vastel. There's no telling what Grimm you will find in that abyss!"

"So is the Cathedral of Sacred Light, the Gale Force Temple, and the Frozen Wastelands," Dana said, "All because of the Grimm that lurk there. And yet…in the memories I saw, I could faintly see visions of people walking through those forbidden areas with no problem…as if they were searching for something. There's more to this world we live in, Nitorin, and I feel like something bad will happen in the future if we don't uncover its secrets."

"Then leave it to the Pretorius Research Division," Nitorin said, "Certainly if there was danger within the world, they would have told us."

"I know, but…I feel like they are missing something here," Dana said.

"Something worth risking your life for?" Nitorin asked, "…Something worth ruining the relationship you have with your children?"

"…"

"…I…I'm sorry, that was too far," Nitorin said, regretting what he said, "I just…I don't want them to be alone without a mother. Not like how I grew up."

"It's alright," Dana said, "I'm thankful that you have your mind in the right place. All I ask is that you keep there."

"Will you at least visit once in a while?" Nitorin asked.

"I already made plans on when I will drop by," Dana said, "That is, if you all will still have me."

Nitorin smiled and gave his wife a warm hug, "You're my wife and the mother of our two blessed children. It's going to be difficult for us to explain this to the kids, but no matter what happens, you're always welcomed here. Just promise me that you will stay safe on your journey, and come back at least before Jurabi graduates highschool," He then grabbed Dana's bag and handed it to her

"Of course, I promise," Dana said as she took her bag from Nitorin's hands before she gave him a peck on the cheek, "I promise to you, Elise, and Jurabi."

"Good luck on your mission, then," Nitorin said with a smile and wave as he watched Dana leave the house.

Once Dana drove off from the vicinity, Nitorin wasted no time heading directly to Jurabi's room. He stood in front of the door, his closed fist inches away from it. Nitorin hesitated since he did not know what he should tell Jurabi beyond "I'm sorry". Regardless, the father cared more about making amends than coming up with the perfect speech. He knocked on the door three times before saying, "Jurabi? Are you asleep?"

There was no answer from the room.

Since Jurabi was currently mute, Nitorin couldn't tell if Jurabi would answer so he said, "I'm coming in. I hope you don't mind," He opened the door and saw Jurabi waking up from his sleep, "Hey there. Sorry I woke you up so suddenly. I just wanted to talk to you really quick."

Jurabi wasn't able to say anything and just sat there on his bed staring at his father.

"Still not better…" Nitorin said, letting out a sad sigh, "I know I sound like a broken record, but I'm sorry, Jurabi. I should never have let this happen to you. Perhaps Drago was right. Perhaps I was trying to just play god and I was punished for it. If anything, I should be the one who's suffering, not you or your mother. But I will say this, Jurabi: I swear I will fix this somehow. It may not happen today, or even this decade, but I will make you speak and smile again. It will be rough from here on, but as long as I don't give up, I'm sure a bright future will be waiting for you and your sister. I don't even care if I am barred from seeing it. As long as I know you two will live normal lives, that's more than enough. So…there's no hard feelings, right?"

"…"

"…Well, I can't assume what you will be saying to me right now," Nitorin said with a smile, "But I can guess that you won't forgive me until I build you that cool robot suit you saw on that tv show you liked a lot. Hm…funny that you mention that. I happen to be in the process of drawing out a diagram of a suit of armor. It's still in the concept phase, but I am working on it. Thankfully, Gerald's allowing me the time to come up with this. I probably would never have gotten around to making it."

"…"

"And one more thing," Nitorin said as he took out a small, black box, "Merry Christmas Eve, Jurabi. It's a present that I want you to keep until you're older. What's inside, you ask? Well…." He opened the box and it revealed a wedding ring with a blue jewel at the center, "Ta-dah…it's the same type of wedding ring your mom has. I still remember the shocked look she had on her face when I showed this to her, but more importantly, I will never forget how my heart raced waiting for her answer. I'm certain that one day you'll meet a girl you'll appreciate as a friend, but the more you hang out with her, the more you'll fall in love with her. When you think the time is right, show this to her. I've always strived to make a world where you can live in peace with your family, and I hope with all my heart that you will love your wife as much as I love your mother."

"…"

"I'll just put this here," Nitorin said before he stood up and walked to the door, "Well, sorry again for waking you. You mom was called to work late in the night for an emergency, but she'll be back in time for Christmas. Good night, Jurabi. See you tomorrow," And with that, he closed the door.

Jurabi glanced over at the ring that was put near his bed. His mouth opened a little bit, but no sound came out.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Argyros Palace~~_

Dana arrived at Argyros Palace after a five-minute drive. When she stepped out of her car and walked her way into the building, she was greeted by a person familiar only to her.

This person was a small, slim woman barely reaching five feet and four inches. Her light-brown skin looked smooth and her nose and lips were smaller upon close inspection. Everything except for her amber eyes and medium bust were small. The most noticeable thing is the woman's long, crazy mane of dark magenta hair that reached down to the length of her back. Located on the edge of her right eye brow was a slash scar.

The woman wore a black, sleeveless spandex bodysuit with shorts that ended at her mid thighs underneath a navy-blue sheer dress with puffy sleeves to her elbows. The dress reaches above her ankles with a large leg slit for her right leg. On her hands was a pair of black wrist gloves with a ruby red sash tied around her waist. Wrapped around her neck was a red choker with silver key connected to the front of it. Her footwear consisted of black heeled sandals that wrap around her ankles and her earrings were silver pearl studs.

Dana's eyes widened in shock upon seeing this person, "A-Aoife?!"

"Heya, Danny!" The woman named Aoife greeted, "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Ugh, not with that dumb nickname again," Dana said, shaking her head.

"Oh, come now," Aoife said, sticking her tongue out, "We've been friends for how long now?"

"Twenty years," Dana answered.

"Twenty years and you're still annoyed at my nicknames?" Aoife asked.

"Yes," Dana said, "Both me and Ken. Anyways, the higher ups called you out here too?"

"Seems like it," Aoife said, "They probably think you're getting bored without moi."

 _Aoife Chandani. A bombastic, cheerful and passionate woman who puts her mind into anything she does, be it parkour or dancing with children. She can be a bit childish and overbearing to others who are unfamiliar with her constant extroverted actions, but she means well both as a hunter and as a person._

"I've been spectacular as usual…at least until I got called out for this mission," Aoife groaned, "Couldn't they have waited until after we were done with our break?"

"I'm sure the higher-ups have their reasons," Dana said.

"They better be good reasons," Aoife said, "I had to cancel my nightly parkour exercises to come here!"

"We'll have to get to the briefing room and find out," Dana said as she looked around, "So did Ren come too?"

"He should have," Aoife said, "We arrived in this city together, but Renny being his usual self, he goes off alone."

"…Has he said anything about me?" Dana asked.

"…He mentioned you on our ride here," Aoife said, "But it's nothing you should worry about. Anyways, let's head on to the briefing room."

Both Dana and Aoife walked through Argyros Palace until they reached the meeting room that was being used as a briefing room for the hunters stationed in the city located on the second floor. Here, one or more hunters are giving information on their mission tasks. In this instance, a total of eighty hunters the hunters in Argyros City were called to the briefing.

Despite the loud chatter entering their ears from all sides, Aoife scanned the entire room as if she was looking for someone.

"No…no…not there either…" Aoife said, a little frustrated but also sad.

"Looking for Ken?" Dana asked.

"Yeah….oh, there he is!" Aoife shouted, pointing towards a man leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed.

The man was a dog faunus with long, light brown hair with dog ears of the same color out for everyone to see. His outfit style was different from the hunters in the same room. He wore a white battle kimono that had a silver waist hoister, grey kimono battle pants and dark blue combat boots that extended to the middle of his lower leg.

"Heya, Kenny!" Aoife called out to her friend after she dragged Dana to him.

"…Aoife, you do realize you're in a meeting room, right?" Ken asked, "So why don't you just keep your voice down for one minute?"

"Aw, but I like the sound of my voice," Aoife said, "Besides, my voice isn't the only one you're going to hear tonight because Dana's here as well."

"Yeah, I know because I actually paid attention to the briefing at the academy," Ken said, shaking his head.

"Ahaha…still as cold in your responses as ever," Aoife said as things went silent. She turned to Dana, who had her gaze towards the ground as if she was afraid of talking to Ken, "Hey," She whispered to Dana, "Say something."

"…It's nice to…see you again, Ken," Dana said hesitantly and carefully.

"…" Ken said nothing but his cold stare towards Dana was more than enough words.

"Oh, come on, Kenny~!" Aoife said, getting fed up by this, "We haven't been together like this for sixteen years!"

"Yes, for a good reason," Ken spoke up.

"…Ken, I know that I—"

"If you are expecting me to just forget about that disaster you put us through all those years ago, you are sorely mistaken," Ken interrupted.

"Like I was trying to say…yes, I did put you all through something horrible as a leader. I know that," Dana said, "Part of me is hoping that we could put that behind us and be a team again."

"That's odd. I don't recall hearing about a Vastel Hunter Squad with only three people in it," Ken said sarcastically, "I refuse to put Morgan's sacrifice behind me, especially when he would still be alive if it weren't for you, Dana."

"Kenny!" Aoife shouted.

"Are you going to keep denying that day too, Aoife?" Ken asked, "The day when we followed this reckless idiot of a leader right towards the jaws of Ragnarok, then we received wounds that would have killed us if left untreated, and on top of it all, Morgan died to save us. And you're asking me to forget all of that? Be friendly with the person who nearly got us killed? Not happening."

Dana didn't say anything as her gaze went back towards the ground. She won't deny any of what Ken just said. She did lead her team into a fight they couldn't win and it costed them a beloved team member, Morgan.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Argyros City: Bao's Café~~_

 _~~Twenty Years Ago~~_

" _Alright, let's get our first team meeting-slash-celebration underway!" Dana shouted._

" _Here, here!" Aoife also shouted._

" _Hey, keep it down, you two," Morgan said, "We're in a café, not a food court at a mall."_

" _As usual, the leaders are always the loud mouths," Ken said, shrugging._

" _Aw, don't be like that, Kenny~," Aoife said, bearing a smug grin knowing that she's annoying Ken._

" _Don't call me that," Ken said, "That preliminary test we took has me aching for a shower, and a dirty dog-faunus is always the most vicious."_

" _That just makes them the cutest too," Aoife said before receiving an annoyed glare from Ken._

" _We're getting off topic already," Dana said, "Our first assignment as a team is to come up with a cool name for ourselves. Every leader has to sit down with their team and come up with something unique."_

" _Is that what they told you at the Team Leadership meeting?" Morgan asked._

" _Well actually, I just came up with that mission myself," Dana said, "But regardless, I have some good ideas for some names, so let me know what you guys think."_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Vastel Kingdom: Northeast~~_

 _~~3 Weeks Later~~_

" _And a job well done!" Dana shouted as she slain the last Beowolf, "Way to go Team Guardians!"_

" _Ugh…I still can't believe we went along with that name," Ken said, facepalming._

" _No complaining, Ken," Morgan said, "We spent so much time denying name recommendations that we ran out of ideas for new ones. We had no choice but to go with whatever Dana blurted out when the professor asked us for our team name."_

" _That's exactly why we should have gone for Team Blackquills!" Ken shouted._

" _Too edgy, Kenny," Aoife said, "We hunters are supposed to be a sword and shield for the helpless, not some highschoolers trying to act tough."_

" _That name does not give an edgy vibe at all," Ken said, "And I thought I told you to stop calling me that ridiculous nickname!"_

" _I didn't come up with Guardians out of the blue, Ken," Dana said, "I actually took inspiration from the Legend of the Vastel Guardians."_

" _The story that was told in textbook in the library?" Aoife asked._

 _"Yep, to make a long story short, this team is based off of four of the eight Vastel Guardians," Dana said._

 _"_ _Dana, you do realize that the Vastel Guardians are only told in legends, right?" Ken asked, "I don't think I can recall any evidence of them actually existing."_

 _"_ _Don't try, Ken. I had this conversation with her too and she was still keen on the name," Morgan said._

 _"_ _I know the Guardians are only in legends, but imagine if they were real…all of this bad stuff with the Grimm wouldn't be happening right now," Dana said._

 _"_ _Hence proving that they never existed," Ken said._

 _"_ _Hm…I would believe otherwise," Dana said, "Maybe the Guardians are just asleep, or maybe they're watching us as spirits but can't do anything to actually protect us."_

 _"_ _Okay, you're reaching now…" Ken said, shaking his head._

" _But wait, there's only four of us," Aoife pointed out, "What about the other four?" Aoife asked._

" _Ah…um….well," Dana scratched her head, "Okay, I kinda half-way came up with that name on the spot."_

" _How do you halfway pull out a name out of nowhere?!" Ken asked._

 _Morgan couldn't help but laugh at how silly his team was being as Ken chewed Dana out while Aoife tried to get in-between the two._

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Vulna Kingdom: Southwest~~_

 _~~Three Years Later ~~_

" _Everyone…still alive…?" Morgan asked, still feeling the sting from the wounds on both his arms and legs._

" _Physically or emotionally?" Aoife asked which a tired chuckle, but also wincing at the small hole wound on her abdomen._

" _This is not the time to be joking around, Aoife!" Ken shouted, trying to cover up Aoife's wounds, not caring for the new scars he has on his back._

" _We're all still alive. That's what counts," Morgan said turning to Dana, who had yet to say a word. But her terrified face was more than enough for Morgan to tell that she's not in the right mental state._

" _I told you this was going to be a suicide mission, Dana!" Ken shouted, "What made you think it was a good idea to fight an Elder Grimm without any support?!"_

" _I-I…" Dana's throat choked up. Whatever words she wanted to say at that moment refused to come out of her mouth._

" _That doesn't matter, now," Morgan said, "We need to get out of here."_

" _Easier said than done," Ken said, "You all heard the stories of the people foolish enough to challenge a Zenith Grimm. Those monsters would chase you to the ends of Vastel to kill you."_

" _Then why not just fight to the bitter end like real hunters!" Aoife shouted with laughter._

" _Shut up, Aoife!" Ken shouted, "We all know that you don't think straight you're nearing death!"_

" _Enough with the shouting," Morgan said silently but with enough force to get them to stop, "Ragnarök is looking for us, right now. It won't be long until it finds us."_

" _What should we do, Dana?" Ken asked, "Do we make a break for it?"_

"… _I…" Dana froze again._

" _Dana? Say something," Ken said, "You're our leader. Don't tell me you didn't make a plan in case we lose."_

"… _I'm sorry…" Dana whispered as tears fell down her cheeks._

 _Morgan whipped away Dana's tears, "Look at me, Dana."_

" _Huh?" Dana asked, looking right into Morgan's eyes._

" _Everyone here is counting on you to get them to safety," Morgan said, "You may have made a mistake, but as leader it is your responsibility to bear the consequences and make the most out of what you can. Do not let this get to your spirit, okay?"_

"… _O-okay," Dana said._

" _Good," Morgan said as he stood up and grabbed his hunter weapon, a red hammer. He turned to his team._

" _M-Morgan…?" Dana asked, "What are you—"_

" _I'll see you guys back at Vastel Academy," Morgan said, "And if not…" He turned to Dana and smiled once again, but wider this time, "…Then it's been an honor being a Guardian with all of you."_

" _Wait!" Dana shouted, "Don't!"_

 _But Morgan had already rushed off in the opposite direction and into the darkness._

" _MORGAN!" Dana screamed._

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Present Time~~_

"You're right, Ken," Dana said, "Nothing can make us forget about Morgan's sacrifice, and I know that no apology would ever make things better. Sometimes I wish I was the one who made the sacrifice while you three escaped."

"…" Ken's face twisted for a second after hearing her last statement, but he kept his cold composure afterwards.

"I don't know, maybe I'm just trying to do the impossible like always. Regardless, I am happy to see you again, Ken. I really mean that," Dana said, "Come on, the meeting's about to start."

When Dana went ahead towards her seat, Aoife looked at Ken with a stern look.

"She was just trying to reconnect to you, Ken," Aoife said, "Would it have hurt to be more open-minded to her?"

"I commend her for trying at least," Ken said as his expression darkened, "…But times have changed. We can't go back even if we unanimously agree that we should."

"Ken…" Aoife said.

"By the way, does something seem…odd about Dana to you?" Ken asked.

"Now that you mention it, yeah," Aoife said, "She's not smiling at my jokes or attempts to get on your nerves."

"…"

"I'll have a talk with her about it, unless you want to," Aoife said, egging him on.

"…Do as you wish," Ken said as he and Aoife got to their seats.

Once the hunters had taken their seats, two executive hunters entered the room amounts the chatter.

"Settle down, everyone!" The executive hunter said, but the hunters were still talking to each other, "I said, settle down!" That was when everyone in the room ceased their talk and paid attention to Elcrest. The director cleared his throat before continuing, "I'm sure all of you are wondering why you've been called here during your holidays on such short notice. You are about to embark on guard duty for the coming nights for potential threats to Argyros City," He then activated a hologram showing details of Argyros City, "At around 1200 hours (12 p.m.) last week, Argyros City temporarily lost power due to an unexplained occurrence that happened around Alisen Industries. Nitorin Alisen, the owner of the company, has said that it was a simple malfunction in machinery, but investigations are still in progress to find out the cause."

 _"_ _Last week…that was when…"_ Dana thought to herself remembering when she stabbed herself with Project Therion.

"But before the city lost power, our Grimm Detection Scanners (GDS) picked up faint readings of a Grimm somewhere in Argyros City," The executive said, "It is unclear how exactly a Grimm managed to penetrate our city undetected; in fact, this could be a simple error in the GDS, hence why this mission is coming so late. If there is a possibility that a Grimm is lurking in this city, we must investigate. Hunters, your mission is to patrol Argyros City and report any suspicious activity. If you by chance encounter a Grimm, you are to report the breach in security and engage the Grimm. We will separate into four groups of twenty hunters. Delta Squad will handle patrols of the northeast sector. Sirria Squad will handle the northwest. Andra Squad will have the south east and Nomada Squad will take care of the southwest."

"Looks like that's you, me, and Ken in Nomada Squad, Dana," Aoife said, nudging Dana, "And we get to patrol the area where you live."

"I hate patrols…" Dana said, covering her face.

"Hey, at least it can't get any worse than that," Aoife said.

"Be aware that if there is a chance that one Grimm slipped past our radar and detection after the blackout, this may be a planned attack by those rumored terrorist groups we've been hearing about," The executive hunter said seriously, "If you find any suspicious individuals, you are to halt them and proceed with identification, but use the utmost caution. And remember, our main goal is to keep our citizens safe and out of any fight. Dismissed."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand it might get worse," Aoife said.

"That's why people call you the Jinx Queen," Dana said, "But it's nothing we can't handle."

Dana and Aoife both head into the Weapon Room, where all the hunters' weapons are stored. Aoife didn't take long in locating a black briefcase and opening it. Inside it was a silver, six-foot tall, wand, "There you are."

"Still using that wand, I see," Dana said, two daggers resting in their sheathes strapped behind her back.

"Yes, Dust Malika's been with me through thick and thin," Aoife said, "And it's staying that way too," That was when she noticed Ken walking past them with a red bayonet in his hands, "Hey! Kenny! It seems we're in the same patrol squad."

"It's not the same as being a team, so don't get ahead of yourself, Aoife," Ken said.

"Still have Blood Cradle with you, huh?" Dana asked.

"Yeah, and you? You're two swords haven't become dull over the years of constant use, have they?" Ken asked.

"They have a name, you know," Dana said, her eyes trained onto her two swords; the left sword was white and the right sword was black, "Neither Hikari nor Kage have ever left my side on the battle and that isn't changing anytime soon."

"Good," Ken said, "A hunter without their weapon is about as useful as Grimm bait."

"I don't think I should be hearing that from you, Ken, given how you always forgot your weapon in the locker back in the day," Dana said.

"…Just don't slow me down out there," Ken said as he quickly left the locker room.

"Hah, nice, Danny," Aoife said, noticing that Dana didn't give a smirk, smile, or anything when she was making fun of Ken.

"Thanks," Dana said without any change in expression, "So…shall we?"

As she watched Dana walk past her, Aoife couldn't help but have mixed feelings, _"Something is definitely wrong with Dana. It's almost as if she's a different person."_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Unknown Location: Vunla Kingdom~~_

Outside of Argyros City, there was a large camp set up particular place that allowed full view of the city without the risk of being seen by anyone else.

A group of masked men wearing black cloaks that had the symbol of an eclipse in which the moon moves in front of the sun, creating a phenomenon where the sky darkness during the day.

The masked men walked into a big tent and stood into attention.

"Commander Otura," A man said, "We have the map, as requested."

In a mission briefing with several other masked men, there was a female wolf faunus with black wolf ears sticking outside of her black hair which was tied into twin pony tails that hung to the side. Her clothing was simple yet sent a powerful message of both authority and strength. She wore black and blood red colored suit and pants with a black neck tie and golden buttons and black gloves. On the side of her right hip was a golden fencing sword resting in it sheathe.

The woman named Otura looked up at the masked men and gestured them to come closer.

The men nodded and placed the map of Argyros City on the briefing table. On the map were several red marks that indicated passageways and entrances.

"These are all the entry ways and paths we can take through the city undetected," The masked man said, "It will take us through the sewers."

"Then our source was good after all," Otura said, "It's a shame we got this information from a human. The mere thought of receiving help from their kind makes my blood boil, but I have my orders. Now, we will split off into two groups. Terra Group will take the pathway that leads into the plaza and will use the darkness to stealth around the city to get into position. Set up bombs here, here, and here. That will send those humans a message."

"And if we encounter hunters along the way?" A masked man asked.

"Either kill them before they sound the alarm or don't get caught," Otura said, "At least until you're given the signal to blow stuff up. In the meantime, Negative Zero Group will take the other path here which will take us straight to our main objective, the Alisen Residence. I will make myself as clear as possible, so you better not miss this. We are to take only two people in that family alive: Dana Alisen and Jurabi Alisen."

"The kid too?" A masked man asked.

"Why the kid?" Another asked.

"Don't ask me for the details," Otura said, "Deathwatch wants them alive so we're bringing them to him alive. If the other two get in our way, kill them."

"If I may, isn't Dana Alisen the hunter who killed ten thousand Grimm?" A masked man asked, "How in the world are we supposed to capture her?"

"With common sense, dimwit," Otura said with a scowl, "Dana is a mother. If you can't put two and two together from that then you're only worth as much as Grimm bait. Any other questions that aren't full of idiocy?" When no one else replied to the question, Otura smirked, "Then let's begin the operation. Show no sympathy to humans. Show no compassion or regret. I want the Hunter Council, humanity— _everyone_ to know...

...

...

...

...that the Eclipse is back!"

* * *

 **Jurabi: Heeeeelloooooo~! This is Jurabi Therion bringing you another chapter of the Therion Arc. This version is the rewritten version and many of the chapters from here to the Emblem Arc will have some manner of changes made to them, be it large or small.**

 **The change here is Saratos' name to Ken for the sake of simplification and for making the name easy to remember.**

 **The other change is the new name for the faunus terrorist faction: The Eclipse. Originally, they were named the Silver Dragons. The same change has happened to the human terrorist faction as well.**

 **There is a change I'm going to do for the first chapter some time in the future, but for right now this chapter and the next are going to have major c** hanges.

 **Anyways, guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter! If you did, please let me know in the reviews and leave a favorite and a follow and also join me on my own discord server to have a nice chat. Thank you very much for reading. See you next chapter~!**

 **Discord: (h) (t) (t) (p) (s) : / / discord . gg / yds39Vc**


	5. Therion Arc Chp 5: His Last Wish

**Therion Arc Chp 5: His Last Wish**

 _~~Unknown Location~~_

 _Jurabi was wandering around a village that he does not recognize. The darkness made it difficult for him to make out anything familiar. All he could hear were countless screams of terror as his nose ran hot from the smell of fire and ash. Every second that passes by, he sees a corpse of men, women, and children on the ground with their blood splatted across the floor. Each person dead person he came across had black hair with red highlights at the edges—the same color as his and his mother's._

 _In the distance behind the burning rubble, Jurabi could make out silhouettes for men and women being killed by men in cloaks with weapons he had never seen before._

" _No…no more!" Jurabi shouted as he began to run as fast as he could away from all the death and burning, "Someone please stop this!"_

 _In his frantic attempt to get away from what he was experiencing, Jurabi didn't notice a dead-end cliff and ended up falling off the edge._

" _Aaaaaaaaaaaah!" Jurabi hit the ground hard, but was not injured in the slightest. He groaned as he stood back up and found himself in a room that looked to be a meeting room of sorts. In this room, he saw a group of kids with the same hair color as him talking with a figure wearing the same white cloak he saw on the other people who were slaughtering innocents._

 _He couldn't make out what they were saying, only what happened next. The figure suddenly took out a white sword in its left hand and killed the children without an ounce of hesitation or compassion._

 _The blood of the children splattered onto Jurabi's horrified face. The figured then turned to him, bearing the face of a white-haired woman with silver eyes._

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Residence~~_

 _~~Nightime~~_

Jurabi bolted out of his nightmare, gasping for air while his quick heartbeats could be felt. His head hurt, causing his vision to be blurry for a moment. He felt his face and stared at his hands, finding not a single drop of blood on them, but then his hands shook as his tears fell on them.

Jurabi felt miserable. Every nightmare he has gets worse. All he could see was blood, death, and fire. Not a single moment of happiness could be seen. What's worse of all is that he didn't understand what he was seeing or why he was seeing it all. He doesn't know whether these nightmares are real or not and it frightens him.

" _Why…?"_ He thought to himself, _"Why must I see all of this? Why me?"_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~With Dana~~_

 _~~Southwest Argyros City~~_

Dana, Aoife, and Ken had disembarked with their group and are on their way to the southeastern area of Argyros City.

 _"This is Nomada Squad, we are approaching our designated search area,"_ Ken said into his communication device.

 _"This is Aerial Detection and Reconnaissance Agent (ADRA). Callsign: Nebula,"_ Said a male voice named Nebula, _"I read you loud and clear. Nomada Squad, you may begin your patrol of Southwest Argyros. Be careful not to make too much noise on those rooftops, and keep your eyes opened for any Grimm or terrorists that may have slipped past our detection sensors."_

"Roger that," Dana said turning to the rest of the hunters, "Let's move, everyone."

As Nomada Squad gave the areas around Southwest Argyros a quick sweep, some of the hunters chatted with each other a little on the comms.

 _"It's been some time since we hunters have been able to walk around in peace and quiet."_

 _"Yeah, but even if we are free to have a good time it sure doesn't feel that way. Man am I thirsty…"_

 _"Heh, so I'm not the only one,"_ Aoife said jumping onto another rooftop.

 _"Let's fan out a little more, everyone,"_ Ken said, _"I'm already getting tired of this."_

 _"Don't have to tell me twice,"_ Said a hunter.

As the patrol continued on, no one has yet to report neither any suspicious activity nor any Grimm presence.

 _"What a nice view…"_ Aoife said, having a good view of Argyros City. _"Only hunters like us get to see the full view of our city from this angle."_

 _"No signs of suspicious activity yet,"_ A hunter said, _"Can we go home now? I can feel my eyes starting to grow bags underneath."_

 _"Stay focused, Nomada Squad,"_ Nebula said, _"Once we confirm that the Grimm signal is an error, we can all go back home."_

 _"Heh, you say that like you're praying to the Guardians for that to be the case, Nebula,"_ Aoife said wearing a smug on her face.

 _"Cut the chatter, Chandani,"_ Nebula said.

 _"Aw, but I won't be able to hear your handsome voice~!"_ Aoife said, in a childlike tone.

" _Aoife, quit being annoying and take this seriously,"_ Ken said.

"Still nothing," Dana said, as Nomada Squad was beginning to run out of places to search, "Is anyone available to check the residential area?"

 _"I am,"_ A hunter said, _"Though that means someone will need to search the park for me."_

 _"Don't worry, I'm close to that area,"_ Ken said.

"Hold on, I'm close to the park too, Ken," Dana said, "Let me join up with you real quick."

" _I don't need your help, Dana,"_ Ken said.

" _Oh, don't be such a loner, Kenny,"_ Aoife said, _"I'll come along too. Three's always a good number for a group."_

" _Ugh…fine,"_ Ken said.

Once Dana and Aoife joined up with Ken, both of them went to Argyros Park. Once they made a quick sweep and came up with nothing, Aoife collapsed onto a nearby bench.

"Ugh!" Aoife shouted.

"Aoife, are you alright?" Dana asked in worry.

"No…I'm not, Dana!" Aoife shouted, "This mission…is the most boring one I've ever done!"

"If this is enough to wear you out, then I question how you managed to qualify as a professor," Ken said.

"Oh Kenny, my sweet, sweet, Kenny," Aoife started with a cheeky smile.

"You're really starting to push my tolerance for that terrible nickname," Ken interrupted with an unamused stare.

"There's more to being a strong hunter than just strength, you know," Aoife said, "I managed to qualify as a professor due to my achievement of saving a school of children from a Grimm attack without a single casualty. Certainly, you did something of the same degree if you were qualified for the same position."

"I took down a Nuckelavee in Sokkitia and a Sea Feilong in Staneia," Ken said, "My strength alone qualified me."

"Odd, because I heard that those two Grimm you took down would have rampaged through countless towns had you not stepped in, Kenny," Aoife said, "Even now with your two best friends you would deny your feelings?"

"I'm not denying anything," Ken said, "I did my job and my duty. Nothing more."

Aoife let out a sigh, "Geez, you are a real handful."

"Well I'm happy for both of you," Dana said, "Being a professor at Vastel Academy is a high honor, especially for those who aren't part of the Four Bloodlines."

"Eh, who cares about having Pretorius, Ouro, Webber, and Argyros blood?" Aoife asked, "Why should your blood decide whether you can do the right thing or not? It's such a stupid concept."

"If you have anything to blame, blame Staneia and their caste system," Ken said, "If something like that has been around for a thousand years, everything else was bound to adopt that same mentality."

"Still, I don't agree with it in the slightest," Aoife said.

"And I'm glad you don't, Aoife," Dana said.

"Are you sure?" Ken asked, "You don't look glad."

"…I…" Dana said before she looked away.

"Dana, is something bothering you?" Aoife asked.

The fact that Aoife didn't call her by her nickname told Dana that Aoife asked that with complete seriousness.

"It's…it's nothing," Dana said.

Aoife remained silent before her lips turned into a smirk on her face, "Hey, Kenny. You know this reminds me of that time when you and Nebula were going crazy over that girl with the fat thighs wearing thigh high socks!"

Ken's eyes widened as his face turned red. He turned away before either of the girls could see his expression, "No, that is NOT what happened! We were just wondering what was up with her choice in clothing!"

"Uh huh?" Aoife asked, "Just wondering?"

"She was violating dress code! Why else would we be examining her?! Where the hell is this coming from anyways?!" Ken asked, "We're in the middle of a patrol mission!"

Dana let out a sigh as she shook her head in disappointment, "You are a real handful, you know that, Aoife?"

"Yep, I'm used to people saying that," Aoife said, "Give me like two minutes and I'll be back up."

"This is serious, Aoife," Dana said, "You never know when that Grimm might appear."

"You actually believe all that hoax?" Aoife said, "I think this is all some big prank on us, despite what the higher-ups said."

"I would understand if it was one or two people, but for 80 hunters?" Dana asked, "Would you prank that many people?"

"Absolutely!" Aoife shouted with determination, "But I would actually use between "The Aoife Whoopie Cushion Orchestra" prank…or "The Explosive Food Fight Aoife Special"~!" She remained silent for a short bit before she added with a whisper, "No dangerous explosives involved, by the way."

" …" Dana stared at Aoife. There was nothing but silence for the next few minutes until she said, "Whoopie Cushion Orchestra? Explosive Food Fight Aoife Special? Who names pranks like that?"

Aoife's smirk quickly disappeared, "There it is."

"There what is?" Dana asked.

"Dana, you don't have to hide it anymore," Aoife said, "I thought it was just my imagination, but now I know for certain."

"…Oh…" Dana said.

"Dana, why didn't you laugh?" Aoife asked, "You always laughed and smiled at the strange things I say."

"…" Ken calmed himself down before turning to both of them, "It's not just her. I knew something was wrong the moment I laid eyes on you. Something clearly is different about you since the last time I saw you."

"Trust me, I'm really okay," Dana said.

"Dana, we're really worried about you," Aoife said, "Ever since we lost Morgan, you were never the same, energetic person. It's as if a part of you died with him. But now, it feels as though things have gotten worse for you."

"Aoife…" Dana didn't know what to say. She then realized why Aoife made such a scene with Ken. She was shocked to see Aoife reading her like a book. Dana took a seat next to Aoife and sighed, "You're right. I'm…not feeling too well. I've been having nightmares as of recent."

"Nightmares?" Ken asked.

"Yes, images of my son being killed," Dana said, "Other strange images of people and places I've never seen nor heard of. It's draining on me. I've tried my best not to show it to my family, but it feels like I'm approaching my limit."

"Dana…" Aoife whispered.

"I know I've changed since I saw Morgan's weapon brought back, covered in his blood," Dana said, "It was hell for me. Being a hero didn't change my life that much, if I'm being honest. I'm still known as the woman who led her brother and her team towards Death itself. And now…" She shook in fear, "I'm scared I might do the same to my family…"

"Oh…" Dana said, realizing why Aoife wanted to make such a scene.

"No, you won't, Dana," Aoife said, holding Dana's cold hands, "I know you better than anyone else. You were always so happy and had this infectious laugh. I missed those times so much and I want to have it back again."

"I know that, but…" Dana said.

"And I don't want to hear you taking all the blame for what happened either," Aoife continued, "I co-signed our plan to fight Ragnarok, so you're not allowed to bear the burden of your mistake alone!"

"Adding to what she said earlier," Ken began, "You're not the kind person to let a mistake weigh down on you."

"But…you said we should never forget that day, Ken," Dana said.

"I said to never forget it, not to let it haunt you," Ken said, "Despite the tragedy you caused that day, I'm still trusting you to ensure that doesn't happen again. I'm doing so because unlike many others, I don't believe you are a horrible person. Can you do that, Dana?"

"Ken…" Dana whispered.

"Oh, come on out an say it, Kenny!" Aoife shouted, "You're worried about Danny and want her to move on from Morgie's death!"

"I'm not in the slightest," Ken said, giving her an annoyed glare, "I'm more worried about Dana's family, really."

"Yeah, sure," Aoife said with a sarcastic tone, rolling her eyes.

"What's with that tone, Aoife?" Ken asked.

"It's the "I see through your bullshit" tone, Kenny," Aoife said, "Just an hour ago you were making this grand speech about how you were never going to forgive Dana, yet here you are asking her to not let people die on her watch. Just make up your mind already!"

"I fail to see how giving advice is the same as forgiving someone," Ken said.

"Would you give advice to your sworn enemy?" Aoife asked with a smirk.

"That's not the same thing and you know it!" Ken shouted.

"…" Dana hadn't said anything since the two started their banter, _"I can't believe I won't be seeing them for a long time. Is it really right for me to just leave?"_

"Hm? What is it, Danny?" Aoife asked noticing Dana was silent the whole time.

"Oh, nothing," Dana said, shaking her head, " I appreciate your words, Aoife, but a leader's duty is to make sure her team comes home alive. Morgan taught me that when I became leader instead of him. I was a leader, so I should bear the burdens that come with that role."

"Dana…" Aoife said, looking down at the grass beneath her feet.

"And Ken, I know what you mean in your heart," Dana said, "So thank you for being blunt when no one else would. That takes real conviction to do, especially to your own friend."

Ken didn't respond, but deep down he felt a little hint of regret for the things he said to Dana.

"Dana, why are you talking like this?" Aoife asked.

"Like what?" Dana asked.

"You're talking as if we'll never see each other again," Aoife said.

"Oh, really?" Dana asked, rubbing her cheek with her finger, "That wasn't what I was intending. I just wanted to thank you. You both remind me so much of my children."

"Your children?" Aoife asked.

"Yes," Dana said, "Ken, you are just like my daughter, Elise. Blunt with your words and always holding in your temper. Aoife, you remind me so much of my son, Jurabi."

"Jurabi?" Aoife asked, "You mean that kid I saw you with a few days ago?"

"That's right," Dana said, "Jurabi loves making jokes for me and getting me to smile. He also likes poking fun at his older sister. But to tell you the truth, his jokes weren't what made me smile…"

"They weren't?" Aoife asked.

"It was actually his smile that made me smile," Dana said, "As long as I get to see that on my children, it's as if all of my troubles vanish into thin air. But…I know they will eventually return until I face them."

"What do you mean?" Aoife asked.

"Aoife, I want you to make me a promise," Dana asked.

"Uh…s-sure," Aoife said, not feeling good about this particular promise.

"Should something happen to me…should I ever be separated from Jurabi," Dana said, "I want you to keep that boy smiling."

"Me?" Aoife asked.

"And who knows?" Dana said, "You might be the perfect Auntie for Jurabi, since you two are cut from the same cloth. I wouldn't mind that at all."

"Dana…" Aoife said.

Ken watched silently as he became to become even more suspicious towards Dana.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Residence~~_

Jurabi was still recovering from the recent nightmare he had seen. But then the sounds of knocking were heard from the door. A moment later, Nitorin's voice called.

"Jurabi? I'm coming in," Nitorin said as he opened the door and entered Jurabi's room with a glass of water in his hand, "I thought you would be thirsty so I got you a glass of water."

"…" Jurabi didn't say anything as he watched his father place the glass near his bed and sat next to him.

"You look like you had a nightmare," Nitorin said, "Are you feeling okay?"

"…I-I'm okay…Daddy…" Jurabi said.

"That's good to hear, but be sure to drink that water, alright?" Nitorin said with a smile, "It'll help soothe your pain."

Jurabi's eyes widened a little as his heart started to race. For some reason, he was feeling uneasy around his own father and every fiber of his body was telling him to stay away.

"Hm? Is something wrong, Jurabi?" Nitorin asked.

"D-Daddy…" Jurabi didn't know what to say in this situation, _"My daddy just now…he's not even surprised that I responded to him. Why? Am I just imagining it?"_

"You look tense, Jurabi," Nitorin said, "There's no need for you to be scared. Daddy is here for you."

Jurabi then looked over at the black box and remembered what his father told him about it, and so he asked, "Daddy, um…?"

"Yes?" Nitorin asked.

"Wh-what are you getting me for Christmas?" Jurabi asked.

"Heh, what kind of question is that?" Nitorin asked, "The point of Christmas is the wait _until_ you open your presents to find out what it is. Santa doesn't like it when kids try to sneak a peek at his presents."

Jurabi's eyes widened again, _"He…didn't even glance at the ring box…"_ He thought to himself.

"Stop being silly with questions like that and drink your water," Nitorin said, "I'm not leaving until you do."

"I-I see…" Jurabi said, grabbing a hold of the glass of water, "Well…n-now that I'm talking again, I can say that I'm looking forward to the Honkai Suit from the Honkai Girl movie last year."

"Ah, I remember that day. I'm glad you're looking forward to it," Nitorin said with a smile, "Don't worry, I'll have that suit ready as soon as possible."

"….Daddy…" Jurabi said with a glare as he threw the glass of water at the wall, "Only Mommy watched that movie with me that day!"

The Nitorin before Jurabi had his face darkened as he stood up and turned his warm smile into a sinister one.

"Heh, smart kid. You truly are Nitorin Alisen's son," Nitorin(?) said as his body became shrouded in a dark aura. When the dark aura disappeared, in the imposter's place was the black wolf faunus, Otura, "It's so nice to meet you, little one. My name is Liviera Otura."

"…Wh-what do you want with me?" Jurabi asked, backing away from the woman.

"What I want with you?" Liviera asked, placing her finger on her chin in deep thought, "Well, you, actually."

"Me?" Jurabi asked.

"Yes, my boss wants you and everything boss wants, he must get. I was hoping to drug you with a sleeping pill I put in that water, but I guess force will suffice," Liviera said extending her hand, "Now come along with me and I promise I won't hurt you."

"No way!" Jurabi shouted, "D-Daddy told me not to go anywhere with people I don't know!"

"Ah, that's right. Let me rephrase that," Liviera said with a smirk, "Come with me and I promise I won't hurt your daddy and your big sister!"

Jurabi's eyes widened at the idea of this woman hurting his loved ones, "Daddy? Elise?!"

"That's right. And not just them," Liviera said as she turned on her earpiece, "Terra Group, this is Otura. Begin the operation."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Argyros Park~~_

 ***BOOM***

Several large explosions erupted across Argyros City. The explosions were so powerful that it caused Dana, Aoife, and Ken to lose their balance.

"Ah!" Aoife screamed.

"What was that sound?" Dana asked as they regained their balance.

" _Attention all hunters into the field!"_ Nebula shouted through the comms, _"Six explosions had occurred in sections C through F! Head to those sections immediately and evacuate civilians!"_

"Those sections…" Dana whispered before her eyes widened. In a burst, she rushed off without warning Aoife or Ken.

"D-Dana?!" Aoife shouted.

"Where are you going?!" Ken asked.

"Section E! That's where my family is!" Dana shouted.

"Shit! You shouldn't go off on your own, Dana!" Ken shouted as he and Aoife started chasing after her.

"Nebula, what's the status on the palace?" Aoife asked.

" _Chief Argyros is safe and is being evacuated as we speak,"_ Nebula said, _"None of the explosions have hit the palace, but everyone is on high alert."_

"They didn't target the palace? Why?" Aoife asked.

"Maybe they have a different target in mind?" Dana asked.

Before the three could ponder further on the question, they turned the corner of a block and happened upon a large group of terrorists setting fire to everything in sight. The moment Ken laid eyes on the symbol on their outfits, he knew who they were.

"The Eclipse!" Ken shouted as they hid behind a care to stay out of sight.

"The faunus terrorist organization? But I thought they were taken out thirty years ago!" Aoife shouted.

" _In truth, only their leader was killed. Afterwards, there were no signs of activity from the Eclipse,"_ Nebula said over the comms, _"But if they are active now…"_

"And if they're brave enough to attack Argyros City, then they have a new leader—a bold one at that," Dana said as she drew her duel swords, Hikari and Kage, "Doesn't matter. I have to get my family to safety no matter what."

"Be careful not to underestimate then," Ken said, "These are practiced murderers. They will give no quarter, so neither should we."

"Got it," Aoife said as she and Ken took out their weapons.

Among the group of terrorists, there were two individuals in the middle watching the chaos.

One was a grey-haired faunus man with red eyes and the tail of a black panther wearing a red suit of armor with a red sword and shield.

The one next to him was a green-haired faunus man with yellow eyes, three, aligned scars that went from the top of his left eye to the end of his nose, and his body had the green scales of an alligator. He wore a black jacket over a white t-shirt with black pants and shoes. Strapped behind his back was a sledgehammer with a jet booster modification.

The green haired man smiled at the sight of the fire and destruction, "Aaaah…the smell of the burning fire, the sight of the debris, and the screams of the humans. What beauty. So beautiful, that any painting I make will never capture such a lovely sight as this. Don't you agree, Vizel?"

The grey-haired faunus next to him, named Vizel, did not say a word in response.

"Ah yes, you don't speak to filth such as myself," The green haired faunus said, "But that's fine. It takes filth such as myself to understand how humans are in their strongest…and especially in their weakest."

"Those two…" Ken whispered as they watched the two faunus from their hiding spot, "They must be the leaders."

"Then let's take them out," Dana said, "Aoife."

"Right ahead of you," Aoife said as she took Dust Malika and aimed it at the sky, "Come forth, Heaven's Tears!" She then spun a circle of water dust that scattered throughout the burning area.

Then in an instant, rain clouds formed and caused water to pour onto the city and douse out the flames.

"Huh? Liviera never said anything about it raining," The green haired faunus growled.

Aoife then turned to Dana and Ken and said, "Now."

Dana and Ken then moved out from their hiding spot. Since Ken had his bayonet, Blood Cradle, he created lightning dust bullets, loaded his bayonet, and fired a lightning bullet at the green haired faunus.

Just as it was close to his head, in a quick flash, Vizel moved in front of the green haired man and blocked the lightning bullet with his shield.

"Ah…so we have company?" The green haired man asked.

Dana infused her black sword, Kage, with darkness dust, "Moon Fang!" She shouted as she sent a crescent moon-shaped dust wave, coated in black with red outlines, towards the green haired man.

The green haired man stared at the dangerous attack flying towards him and smiled, "Now that's what I call an attack," He tightly gripped his hammer and the jet boosters ignited, "Batter up~!" He shouted as he swung his hammer like a baseball bat and countered Moon Fang, sending it into a building. On impact, Moon Fang sliced off a good portion of the building before reaching the other side.

"He deflected it?" Dana asked, shocked by the sheer strength the man had, despite not being physically large.

"I wonder how many humans got cut into pieces by that lovely attack," The green haired man said, smirking at Dana, "What do you think, darling Dana?'

"You know who I am?" Dana asked as Ken and Aoife made it to her side.

"Oh of course," The man said, "Allow me to introduce myself. In the Eclipse, I am called Savage. My partner here is Vizak, though do not expect him to speak to filth such as you lot. It is such a pleasure to meet you."

"You won't be calling our meeting a "pleasure" once we lock you terrorists up," Ken said.

"Terrorists? Us?" The man named Savage asked, pretending to be shocked, but the shock then turned into a face of disgust, "Don't make me laugh. The real terrorists are all around us, you see. How long ago was it that the filthy humans mistreated our kind and treated us like chainless slaves? "

"Don't waste your breath trying to justify your actions!" Aoife shouted, "You're killing innocent civilians in this city!"

"Oh please. I wish that was the only reason we're here in the first place, but unfortunately it's not," Savage said, "We're here to not only send a message, but to also strengthen our own cause with a…valuable new recruit."

"New recruit?" Dana asked.

"Don't get distracted, Dana," Ken said, "In the eyes of Vastel's people, these faunus' are nothing more than traitors, and we will treat them as such!"

"Then by all means, my fellow faunus," Savage said, gripping his hammer, "Try and stop our quest for faunus dominance. You'll be disappointed in the results. Stay back, men. These three hunters are ours."

The group of Eclipse soldiers dispersed on Savage's order as both Savage and Vizak prepare for a faceoff against Dana, Ken, and Aoife.

However, Dana felt uneasy the more she thinks of her family.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Residence~~_

Jurabi watched in horror the fire and smoke that burned through the city from his bedroom window. He began having terrible flashbacks of the nightmare he had before.

"No…not again…!" Jurabi shouted as he covered his head, "Not again!"

"I've heard from a bird of mine that your mother is a well-known hunter assigned to this city," Liviera said, "I don't her ability to protect herself but…anything could happen when you're out there fighting the Eclipse."

"Please stop this! I don't want my family to get hurt!" Jurabi shouted.

"Oh, I certainly will, dear," Liviera said, "My men out there causing those fires are only there to draw attention, so I can easily call this off. All you need to do is come with me and I promise to do just that."

"I-I…" Jurabi whispered, hesitant to accept the woman's offer.

"And if you're still not convinced, I promise my men won't hurt your daddy further. No doubt they are beating him to a bloody pulp while your sister is asleep from the drugs I gave her," Liviera said, "So…will you condemn your family to death?"

Jurabi's legs began to shake as his breath became shallow from how scared he was of this woman.

"I'm being as generous as I can here," Liviera said, "I can easily have your daddy and sister killed and still take you by force. It's really your choice, my dear."

Jurabi held back his answer as much as he could, but after what he's seen in his nightmare—the slaughtering of men, women, and children, he didn't want that to happen to his family, "….Okay! Okay! You win! I'll…go with you! Just let my family go!"

Liviera made an evil smile as she extended her hand to him, "You've made a wise choice, Jurabi. I am very curious as to why my boss is so interested in you."

Jurabi slowly walked towards her and hesitantly took her hand.

Liviera tightly gripped his hand and forcibly dragged him down to the living room.

There, Jurabi was greeted by a horrifying sight. The sight of his father tied to a chair, his body covered in bruises and blood from being beaten by a group of Eclipse members.

"That's enough, guys," Liviera said, "We have what we came here for."

When the men broke off from Nitorin, Jurabi could get a better glimpse of his beaten body.

"D-Daddy!" Jurabi screamed.

"J-Jurabi…" Nitorin whispered, wincing in pain.

Before Jurabi could rush over to help his father, Liviera held him back.

"What a touching reunion, but I am afraid we'll have to cut it short," Liviera said turning to her men, "Restrain the boy. I'm going to finish our business here," She then turned to Jurabi with an eerie smile, "It'll be just a second, my dear."

"Wh-what are you doing?!" Jurabi asked as he saw Liviera make her way to Nitorin, "You said you wouldn't hurt him!"

"I said that my men wouldn't hurt him," Liviera said, "And I recall you begging me to "let your family go". I believe I let your father go after I called off my men, but I never said anything about myself. Ah, it's such a shame really…for your father at least, hehehe."

"N-no…please, don't! I'm begging you!" Jurabi cried as tears starting falling off his eyes.

"J-Jurabi…it's okay…" Nitorin said, weakly, "It's going to be okay…"

"No, it's not!" Jurabi shouted, "I don't want you to get hurt anymore! I don't want Mommy or Elise to get hurt!"

"But as long as you…and Elise don't get hurt…I don't care what happens to me…" Nitorin said, "As long…as you live…"

"D-daddy…please!" Jurabi cried.

"Aaww…this is getting to me," Liviera said sarcastically, "I can feel my tears welling in my eyes. Anyways…there is something our boss wants from you, Nitorin. Our boss needs access to some very secret files that we got from a trusted friend of yours. But…we need your identity to access them. Now, we could choose your finger, but fingerprints need to be preserved. Your face? Same problem. DNA? No. But…one body part doesn't have the massive preservation requirements those three have."

Liviera then readied her fingers before she grabbed Nitorin's head and held his left eye open, "Thank you for your contribution to humanity's downfall, Mr. Alisen."

Then, in a flash, she grabbed Nitorin's left eyeball and pulled it out without hesitation.

Nitorin let out an ear-piercing scream as blood spilt from his hollowed-out eye socket.

Liviera examined the eye, not even looking at the pained man she took it from, "I never held an eyeball before. It's so…beautiful. Perhaps I should keep a collection from now on."

"Jurabi…my only regret, is not making the peaceful world you and Elise deserve…" Nitorin said.

"Please no…enough!" Jurabi cried.

After Liviera placed Nitorin's eyeball into a preservation capsule, she then turned to her men, "One of you lend me your clubs."

"Yes, ma'am," The men said as one of them gave her their black clubs.

"Now we can't have them figuring out that I took your eyeball," Liviera said, "A good two hits should suffice," She then struck the left side of Nitorin's head three times, causing his blood to splatter.

Jurabi felt something begin to rile up inside of him as he watched his father suffer in such a manner. His body began to shake and eyes slowly losing their color.

"Ah sorry, the third hit was just for the kick of it," Liviera said, "You still alive?"

Nitorin was barely lifting his head up. He no longer had the strength to scream and was on the verge of death.

"…Dad…" Jurabi whispered, "I'm so…sorry…"

"No need…to apologize…Jurabi…" Nitorin said, managing a smile.

"I'm surprised," Liviera said as she handed the club back to her men, "Perhaps humans are more resilient than I thought. But no matter," She then took out her own weapon: A sky blue rapier and turned to Jurabi, "Take a good look, little one. You're about to see what my kind wishes upon yours."

"…Jurabi…" Nitorin whispered, "…Never…forget…"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Five Years Ago~~_

" _Daddy! Daddy look!" Cheered a three-year-old Jurabi as he showed his working father a picture._

" _Hm? What is that, Jurabi?" Nitorin asked._

" _It's a picture of Mommy in a Honkai armor!" Jurabi said._

" _Honkai armor?" Nitorin asked._

" _You haven't watched the tv show? It's about this lady who fights injustice in a suit of armor!" Jurabi shouted, "I love it a lot and I think the armor is cool, but it would be cooler if Mommy wore one, don't you think?"_

" _Hm…perhaps so," Nitorin said._

" _Do you think you can make one?" Jurabi asked._

" _Well…I am the Ultimate Builder," Nitorin said with a confident smile, "I can build anything. That's my super power."_

" _Wow, really?!" Jurabi asked as his eyes lit up._

" _It's true," Nitorin said, patting his son on the head, "I'll have a little talk with your Mommy and see if she's willing to help me make it, and who knows? Maybe I'll make one for you too."_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Four Years Ago~~_

" _Hey Daddy! Guess what!" Jurabi as a four-year-old said to Nitorin as he was busy working on a project._

" _I'm kinda busy, Jurabi," Nitorin said, "Can it wait?"_

" _But….it's something amazing," Jurabi said, "I won the school Science Fair!"_

 _Nitorin stopped what he was doing and turned to Jurabi with a smile full of glee, "Did you?! I want to see!"_

 _Jurabi showed him the blue ribbon with the 1_ _st_ _Place written on it._

" _Spectacular work, boy!" Nitorin cheered as he picked Jurabi up, "I knew you had a talent for building things! I'm so proud of my boy!"_

" _Hehe, thanks Daddy," Jurabi said, "So…can I help you make the Honkai Armor?"_

" _Ah yes, the armor…" Nitorin said, scratching his head, "Well that takes a bit more experience to make and you don't quite have that at the moment."_

" _Oh…I see," Jurabi said, looking disappointed._

" _But I am more than willing to teach you more so that one day we can make the armor together," Nitorin said, "Why don't we take this step by step?"_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Three Years Ago~~_

" _And then you twist it like so, add the power core, finish connecting the outer layers and…!" Nitorin shouted as he watched Jurabi finish building the toy machine car._

" _I did it! I did it!" Jurabi cheered._

" _It's too early to celebrate," Nitorin said taking out a controller, "Let's put it to the test."_

 _After a few minutes of controlling the toy machine car, Nitorin determined that the device was working perfectly and gave Jurabi a thumbs up._

" _It works wonders, son," Nitorin said, "Another excellent success from you. At this rate, you'll be better than me!"_

" _Ah, you don't think that, Daddy," Jurabi said, "No one can beat you at building things."_

" _Jurabi, you'll learn one day that you can't be number one at everything," Nitorin said, "There will always be someone who will do something better than you can."_

" _Really?" Jurabi asked._

" _Yes…but there is one single thing no one can beat you at," Nitorin said._

" _What's that?" Jurabi asked._

" _Being yourself," Nitorin said with a smile._

" _Being myself? What does that even mean?" Jurabi asked._

" _Ah, that's right," Nitorin said, "You're too young to be given riddle answers. Let's just say that you are fine as you are. No need to worry about being better than someone else. You'll meet many people in your life, so do your best to get along with them."_

" _Will I even be able to meet those people?" Jurabi asked, looking down, "I've been hearing bad things like the Grimm getting meaner and bigger."_

" _Ignore those things you've been hearing," Nitorin said, "No matter how big the Grimm gets, Mommy will still beat them. Size means absolutely nothing to the courage of a hunter."_

" _Yeah! You're right!" Jurabi said, "Sorry for doubting Mommy…"_

" _No need to apologize," Nitorin said, "And don't worry. You won't even have to see a Grimm in your life. Once I'm finished with my building project, the Grimm won't be a problem for anyone anymore."_

" _Really? You can build something that can scare them?" Jurabi asked._

"… _Something like that, yes," Nitorin said, "And once we scare them away, you and Elise will live a life free from their wickedness."_

" _Wow…you sound just like both Honkai Girl and the Guardians!" Jurabi shouted._

" _Hehe, do I?" Nitorin asked._

" _Can you really do it, Daddy?" Jurabi asked._

" _Can I? I will do it," Nitorin said, "And once I'm done, I'll make the Honkai Armor for both you and your mommy and we'll live happily ever after, like a family should."_

" _Promise?!" Jurabi asked._

" _Cross my heart and hope to make you smile, my little guardian," Nitorin said with a smile._

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Present Day~~_

"…Daddy…" Nitorin whispered as he looked his son in the eyes, "…Daddy…loves you…and always will…cross my heart…and hope to…make you smile…my little guardian…"

Liviera thrusted her sword into Nitorin's abdomen and immediately pulled it out, causing blood to pour from his wound.

"Ugh, I hate moody speeches about love," Liviera said with disgust, "I would have given you a swift death, but for defiling my ears with that filth about loving you son, you die a slow death, Mr. Alisen."

Jurabi couldn't say anything as he watched his father slowly bleed out as his words to him rang out in his mind.

"It's time to go," Liviera said, "Contact Savage and Vizak and everyone else and tell them we have one of the targets."

"And what about the girl here?" One of the men asked, "She also has the same hair color as the boy and his mother."

"Doing anything with her will draw suspicion," Liviera said looking at Jurabi, "From this boy's aura alone, I can tell that there is something special about him. He could be linked with that legend our boss is so fond of."

"It can't possibly be…"

"Enough chit-chat. We head back into the passageway we took to get here," Liviera said, "The mother will be returning to its nest, and soon, it will come running into our trap seeking revenge."

Jurabi didn't make a single sound. He couldn't after what he witnessed happen to his father. The sight of the blood was enough to make the child black out.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~With Dana~~_

Dana moved in to strike Vizak on his left side with Kage.

Vizak blocked her attack with his shield and readied himself to counter, but he instinctively deflected a water blast from Aoife with his sword.

"Black Firmament," Dana shouted as she quickly drew Hikari. Both weapons emitted both dark and light dust. With blinding speed, Dana quickly struck Vizak with a powerful sword strike that sent him skidding meters away despite being heavily armored.

"…This strength," Vizak said in a deep voice, "You are unlike most humans to send me moving backwards."

"Aoife!" Dana shouted to Aoife.

"Got it!" Aoife shouted as she waved Dust Malika in a circle towards Dana, "Bubble Shield!" With her water dust, she created a bubble shield around Dana.

Dana unsheathed Hikari again before rushing towards Vizak, "Dragon Fang," She shouted as she coated Kage in dark dust.

Vizak put up his shield in defense and blocked three powerful sword strikes from Dana, "Not strong enough!" He shouted as he used his shield to push Dana back.

"Grr…" Dana growled as she skidded back, "This guy's tougher than I thought. I can't get a good hit in."

Meanwhile, Ken had Blood Cradle pointed at Savage ready to pull the trigger.

"How long has it been, Ken?" Savage asked.

"I don't speak to traitors," Ken said.

"How about long-time friends?" Savage asked with a smirk.

"You think being my friend all that time ago makes your actions justified?" Ken asked, "If so then you're an even bigger disappointment than I thought."

"And yet you still found it in your heart to treat me like an equal," Savage said, "Admit it: You've always been attracted to living disappointments. I've always wondered why."

Without hesitation, Ken pulled the trigger and fired a lightning bullet at Savage.

Savage stepped to the side to avoid the bullet, "Ah, must have touched a nerve."

Ken then fired three more lightning bullets at Savage.

Instead of avoiding, Savage rushed forward, deflecting all three of the bullets.

Ken reloaded Blood Cradle with a bigger bullet and aimed it at the ground. He jumped back before opening fire. The lightning bullet that came out created an electrical surge-like explosion that kept Savage at bay.

"A lightning bomb," Savage said, "Clever, but it won't stop me. Reptilian Cutter!" With his sledgehammer, he unleashed an extremely fast attack that landed on the ground creating a stream of earth cracks that caused the earth to shift upwards, blocking the electricity, "You can't run forever, Ken~!" When Savage jumped on top of the newly shifted earth, he was surprised to see Ken riding on a manhole that he managed to lift up into the air using lightning dust.

"I never run," Ken said as he pointed Blood Cradle at Savage and fired a large lightning bullet.

Savage dodged with ease, "Heh, you think that will work twice?"

"Five…four…" Ken whispered as he lifted the manhole he was riding up, which caused the electrical bullet he fired to circle back due to the magnetic force.

Savage looked back and saw the bullet returning towards him and jumped up into the air to dodge, "You're a dangerous one, Ken, but you've run out of tricks now."

"Three…two…" Ken looked up towards Savage and flipped the manhole over before the bullet connected. As a result of the magnetic change, the lightning bullet was repelled back into Savage's direction in the air.

"What?!" Savage shouted as the bullet reached him.

"…One," Ken said.

The bullet exploded into an electrical surge, shocking Savage's body, forcing him to plummet onto the ground before quickly recovering.

"Agh…! I keep forgetting not to underestimate you, Ken," Savage said.

Vizak jumped back from Dana's attack and regrouped with Savage, but did not say anything about Savage's condition.

"A little "Are you okay, Savage" would be nice, Vizak," Savage said.

Vizak said nothing and focused only on his enemies in front of him.

"Sheesh, fighting with you is unbearable," Savage said.

Ken regrouped with Dana and Aoife.

"He took an electric explosion to the face and can still talk…" Ken said, "He wasn't able to do that in his academy days."

"You know him, Ken?" Aoife asked.

"…Doesn't matter," Ken said, "I propose another avenue of attack. Dana, switch targets with me. You'll keep Savage on his toes while Aoife and I deal with the big one with long range."

"Ugh…" Dana felt her heart aching as she clenched her chest.

"Dana?" Aoife asked in concern, "What's wrong?!"

"Stay with us, Dana!" Ken said, "We can't beat them without your help!"

Savage smirked as the rocket boosters on his sledgehammer activated, "Looks our chance has come, Vizak!"

Just as they were both ready to attack, Savage's communication device turned on, "Yes?" He asked, turning off his sledgehammer, "You got him?"

"…"

"Damn, wish I were there to see the look on the kid's face," Savage said.

"…"

"Right, I'll be sure to tell her. We're on our way," Savage said, turning off his communication device, "My apologies, ladies and gentlefaunus, but we must be taking our leave. It was fun while it lasted."

"Grr! You're not…going anywhere!" Dana shouted as she felt her chest pain again, "What is…going on with me…?"

"I'm afraid you have bigger things to worry about, Dana Alisen," Savage said with an evil smile, "Like say…your family."

Dana's eyes widened as she pointed her sword at Savage, "What did you…do?! If you laid a finger on any of them…"

"Let me say, first and foremost, that it wasn't me," Savage said, raising his hands in the air, "…Hehe, but damn do I wish it was. Be sure to watch your step in your house…you might slip on some…liquid there."

Without thinking twice, Dana bolted off towards the direction her home was at as fast as she could.

"Dana!" Ken shouted.

"And that's our cue to leave," Savage said, "It was nice seeing you again, Ken. Hope this isn't out last encounter."

"No, you don't!" Aoife shouted shooting a water blast at Savage.

Vizak stepped in front and blocked the attack with his shield.

"Farewell~!" Savage said as he slammed his hammer onto the ground and created a wall of earth.

"Damnit!" Ken shouted as he turned on his communication devise, "This is Volas. We encountered two members of the Eclipse, but they managed to escape."

" _This is Nebula. Things are getting sorted out in the other sectors as well,"_ Nebula said, _"It seems the terrorists' goal was to cause damage and nothing else. They left as soon as the response teams arrived."_

"They did?! That's strange… they couldn't have attacked this city just for that. What was their…" Aoife asked before her eyes widened.

"Nebula! I need the medical team at the Alisen Residence ASAP!" Ken shouted as he and Aoife began making their way to the Alisen Residence.

" _A medical team?"_ Nebula asked, _"Did something happen? Wait, Alisen isn't with you?!"_

"Don't ask questions! Just do it!" Ken shouted.

" _Right, Medic Team Beta is enroute. ETA: Two minutes,"_ Nebula said.

"Please, let us make it on time!" Aoife shouted.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Residence~~_

Dana kicked down the front door of her house with her swords drawn, "Elise! Nitorin! Jurabi!" She shouted, hoping to the gods that there was a reply.

What she got was a weak groan.

Dana rushed over to the source of the sound and found her husband in the bloodied state Liviera put him in.

"Oh my god…Nitorin!" Dana shouted as she cut Nitorin's bonds and held him close in her arms, "Nitorin, please! Speak to me!"

"…" Nitorin barely lifted his hand and held Dana's, "D-Dana…? I-Is that…you…?"

"Yes, it's me! I'm here now!" Dana shouted, "Where are Jurabi and Elise?"

"Elise…they…left her unconscious…in her room," Nitorin said weakly, "Please, help her."

"Okay, just…stay with me," Dana said, covering up Nitorin's wounds with a cloth and placing him gently on the sofa before she rushed upstairs and went into Elise's room. To her relief, Elise was unharmed but was tied to a chair unconscious. Dana undid her bonds and brought her downstairs to Nitorin, "Elise is okay. It looks like she got drugged."

"…Thank…goodness…" Nitorin said, "I…I'm sorry, honey…I…I couldn't stop them from taking him…"

"Jurabi?" Dana asked, "They took him? Don't worry. I'll get him back! First, I'll get you some help right now," Dana moved to contact Nebula, but Nitorin continued.

"Dana…thank you for everything you've done for me…" Nitorin said.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Dana asked.

"I'm…gonna die…aren't I?" Nitorin asked.

"No!" Dana shouted, placing a hand on Nitorin's cheek and holding his hand in her other, "Don't talk crazy! Not while I'm around! You're going to live, Nitorin! I swear it!"

"…I don't…wanna die yet…" Nitorin said as a tear started leaking from his remaining eye, "I don't…wanna die…don't wanna die…if I die…who will take care of them…? Who will…keep them safe…?"

"We both will! Just like we always have!" Dana shouted.

"D-Dana…I'm so glad…you came into my life…" Nitorin said, "I wanted to spend more time with all of you…I wanted to see the world with you…a world free from the Grimm…free from disasters like this…"

"I'll take you!" Dana shouted, "I'll take you wherever you want to go as a family! We'll go to the mall with Elise! We'll go watch the next Honkai Girl movie Jurabi is excited for! You and I will go on that cruise trip we had planned! We can go anywhere we want!"

"Really…?" Nitorin asked.

"Yes!" Dana said.

"I-I'm gonna be okay?" Nitorin asked.

"Of course!" Dana shouted, "You won't die, I promise!"

"Okay…" Nitorin said, "I'm glad. I'm not gonna die. I can be with all of you…forever…"

"Of course, you can!" Dana shouted as tears started falling from her eyes, "You're gonna live, Nitorin! You'll bring peace to the world! You'll save everyone from the Grimm! Jurabi and Elise will be able to live happy lives! They'll both become grown adults, get married, have kids, and we'll be grandparents together!"

"…Da…na…" Nitorin whispered, "Thank you…these years with you have been the best years of my life…"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Argyros Hospital~~_

 _~~10 Years Ago ~~_

" _It's time to wake up," Said Nitorin._

 _Dana woke up, surprised to see herself in a lovely, single-bed room in Argyros Hospital._

 _Nitorin sat by her side with a welcoming smile, "How are you feeling?"_

 _"Uh…my head…hurts," Dana said._

" _That makes sense," Nitorin said, "You were in bad shape when I found you lying on the ground."_

"… _" Dana said._

" _Do you have a name?" Nitorin asked._

"… _Dana," Dana said._

" _Dana…?" Nitorin asked, thinking she had a last name._

" _Dana," Dana repeated._

" _No, I mean your last name," Nitorin said._

" _I…don't remember my last name," Dana said._

"… _Hm…but what you said before…" Nitorin mumbled._

" _Hm?" Dana asked._

" _Ah, nothing," Nitorin said, "I'm sorry for assuming you would have a last name. Hello, Dana. I'm Nitorin Alisen. Though my original last name was Yuse, but well…I'm now the son of the owner of Alisen Industries."_

" _Alisen Industries?" Dana asked._

" _I'll be sure to introduce you to my adoptive father," Nitorin said, "He's a stern man, but he'll grow on you so long as you don't get on his bad side."_

"… _O-okay…" Dana said._

 _Nitorin smiled, "And if there's anything you need, let me know. Visiting hours are almost over so I'll be on my way. I'll be around to see you again, Dana, if you'll allow me."_

" _O-of course," Dana said._

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Residence~~_

 _~~Two Months Later~~_

" _You want me to teach you how to cook?" Nitorin asked._

" _Um…yes," Dana said, "I hate to admit it, but I relied on my brother to cook for me since I don't know how."_

 _At this point in time, Dana had been adopted into the Alisen family, but wasn't an official member of the family due to her unknown family name._

" _Okay then," Nitorin said, "We'll fix that up for you right now. So, let's start by baking a cake."_

 _And so, the two spent hours upon hours and days on baking a cake with Dana learning as much as she could by watching and listening to Nitorin._

 _One time, Dana ended up tripping with a package of eggs and got lots of eggs spilt on her hair._

" _Uh oh," Nitorin said, ready with a wet cloth. He spent some time cleaning up Dana's hair while giving her advice, "You have to be careful with the eggs, Miss Alisen. They're delicate little things."_

" _You sure know a lot about cooking," Dana said._

" _Well, cooking is like building machinery except the ingredients and tools operate differently," Nitorin said, "Plus I like making stuff be it weapons or just a simple turkey sandwich."_

" _Hehehe, you get proud from making turkey sandwiches?" Dana asked, holding in a laugh._

" _Of course, I do," Nitorin said, "I even do a cool looking pose once I put the turkey in-between the bread! Then my father hits me on the head for being an idiot."_

" _Aaahahahahaha!" Dana ended up howling in laughter from just imagining Nitorin doing a pose with a turkey sandwich in hand._

" _Finally got you to laugh," Nitorin said with a smile, "That's progress in my book."_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Industries~~_

 _~~Four Months Later~~_

 _Nitorin and Dana arrived at the Dance Party being held at Therion Industries. Both of them wearing dresses and suits for the occasion._

" _So, how do I look?" Dana asked, dressed up in a blue dress decorated with golden bows and white flowers._

" _Amazing…absolutely beautiful," Nitorin said with a smile, "I told you this dance party would be worth it."_

" _I still think I should be attending to my hunter duties instead," Dana said before blushing, "Plus…I've never been in a dress like this before."_

" _Nonsense. Even hunters as strong as you need rest," Nitorin said extending his hand, "Or at least, a dance or two."_

 _Dana smiled bashfully at how cleverly planned that invitation to dance was, "Fair warning: I'm very picky when it comes to dancing partners."_

 _Nitorin let out a confident smile of his own, "The picky ones are more fun to impress."_

 _At first, the two thought they were just going to dance through just one number, but both of them impressed each other with their refined and remarkable dancing skills. What started as a one-time dance ended up being a dance that lasted through ten songs._

 _Neither of the two grew bored of each other's presence nor did they ever switch partners with anyone else. Dana's beauty was far too captivating for Nitorin, and Nitorin's gentle hands around her waist made Dana feel safe for the first time since her brother's death._

"… _Thank you," Dana said, burying her face in Nitorin's chest._

 _Nitorin's eyes widen for a split second before he smiled and allowed Dana to do what she wishes, "I should be thanking you. I haven't had as much of a wonderful time with anyone like you, Dana. For the first time in my life, I feel…whole."_

 _Silence fell between them as the last song played for the night. This song was themed "True Love"._

" _I love you." They both said to each other during the last few beats of the song._

 _And those were the same words they spoke to each other at their wedding and soon after words, their own children._

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Present Time~~_

"Dana…there's something…I need to tell you…" Nitorin said.

"What is it…?" Dana asked.

"Do you remember…when we first met…?" Nitorin asked.

"You mean…that day in the hospital?" Dana asked.

"No…we didn't first meet in the hospital," Nitorin said, "It was days before that…on that open plain in North Vulna…you don't remember what happened, but when we met…you said something that has always been…on my mind…"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~North Vulna~~_

 _~~Ten Years Ago ~~_

" _Mr. Alisen, where are you going?" Asked a bodyguard._

" _I thought I heard something over here," Nitorin said, "I'm going for a closer look."_

" _Please sir, it could be a Grimm in those bushes," The bodyguard said._

" _There's nothing to worry about," Nitorin said, "The hunters already swept this area for our weapon tests. It's probably just a squirrel."_

" _Sir, I insist—"_

 _They were interrupted by sounds coming from the bushes. The body guard took out a handgun and begged Nitorin to stay back._

" _Is someone there?" Nitorin asked, "If there is, there's no need to be afraid. You can come out."_

 _After a few seconds of silence, Nitorin let out a sigh as his bodyguard dropped his gun._

" _Must have imagined it," Nitorin said as he turned to leave._

 _The bushes made another sound, which caused Nitorin to turn around to see a frightened woman with black hair and red highlights wearing nothing but a worn-out t-shirt and shorts with old shoes. The woman looked like she was on the verge of collapse._

" _Oh my, are you okay, lady?" Nitorin asked._

"…" _The woman said nothing as she blankly stared at Nitorin who was slowly approaching him._

" _It's okay," Nitorin said, "I'm Nitorin Alisen. What's your name?"_

"… _They're…they're all dead…" The woman said, breaking into tears._

" _Huh?" Nitorin asked._

" _They're all dead!" She screamed as she covered her face as tears fell through her hands, "My mother, father, brother, everyone! All slaughtered!"_

" _Please don't cry," Nitorin said slowly approaching her and hugging her, "I'm right here. I'm going to get you some help…"_

" _No…No!" The girl screamed, "No help came! I'm the only one left! The last of the Therions!"_

" _Therions?" Nitorin asked._

 _The girl let her hands dropped as the reality hit her that she wasn't where she thought she would be, "Wait…where am I…was it all…a bad dream…? If so…then I can finally…rest…" She then fell to her knees before she closed her eyes and lost consciousness._

 _Nitorin turned to his bodyguard, "Get my father and call the hospital!"_

" _Yes, sir!" The bodyguard shouted before he sprinted off._

 _Nitorin ran towards the unconscious woman and held her in his arms, "…Therions…could it be…?"_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Present Time~~_

"Wh-what are you saying?" Dana asked, "That can't be…!"

"You may deny it…but it's true," Nitorin said, "You suppressed the memory and locked it away. You…are a Therion, Dana. Dana Therion is your true name…and Jurabi and Elise…"

"They are Therions too," Dana said.

"I don't know why…but something tells me that…you were sent here by your people for a reason…" Nitorin said, "And that's also why…the Eclipse want to capture you and Jurabi…"

"…They'll pay for this…" Dana growled.

"Dana…please…I beg you…" Nitorin whispered, "Please save Jurabi. Keep him and Elise safe…keep yourself safe too…"

"Nitorin, no! Stay with me!" Dana shouted, "Don't leave me!"

"…Da…na…will you… save this world…for Jurabi…for Elise…for everyone…" Nitorin said.

"…I…" Dana sobbed, "I will…! I swear I will! I promise I will!"

Nitorin smiled, "Then…I can rest easy…I love you, Dana. I love…you…Jurabi…Elise…I love…you…all…"

Nitorin's body went limp and his eyes lost all remaining colors.

Dana's tears fell endlessly onto his unmoving face as she held his cold hands tightly.

"Dana! Are you there?!" Aoife shouted as she and Ken arrived. When she saw Nitorin's corpse, she covered her mouth, "No…"

"Too late…" Ken growled as he heard the hospital sirens in the distance.

"Dana…" Aoife whispered, noticing Dana shaking and sobbing.

"…I…" Dana whispered.

Ken's eyes widened as he stopped Aoife from approaching Dana, "Don't get close, Aoife."

"What are you talking about, Kenny?!" Aoife asked, "She needs a hug!"

"I sense something foul about Dana," Ken said, "So foul that…"

"…I'll…kill them…" Dana whispered as her skin started to turn black, "I'll kill them all…"

" _This is Nebula! Chanadani, Volas, my Grimm readings are spiking in your area for some reason! What is happening?!"_ Nebula shouted.

"Grimm?! Where?!" Aoife asked.

"Right in front of us," Ken said.

Aoife looked at Dana and was horrified at what was happening to her, "No…you don't mean…"

Dana's eyes turned black as her iris turned black. Her body completely changed, taking the appearance of a Grimm's body, **"I'LL KILL THEM ALL!"** She screamed as she sprouted dragon wings and flew off through the roof.

" _Wait, Dana's signature is…moving up in the air!"_ Nebula shouted, _"What's going on?!"_

Ken remained silent before he responded, "Nebula, have any hunter you have left to form up on my position. I'm going after Dana."

" _Of course, but why?"_ Nebula asked.

"…Just please do it," Ken said before he hung up and looked at Aoife, "Aoife…"

"Dana…did she…did she just turn into…" Aoife asked, not wanting to believe what she just saw.

"…Aoife, I need you to look after Dana's daughter," Ken said, "I'm going to bring her back."

"What about her son? I don't see him anywhere," Aoife said.

"I'll get him back too," Ken said, "No doubt they kidnapped him."

"Be careful, Ken," Aoife said, "Please."

"…I will," Ken said as he began to make his way to the city exit. During that time, Dana's words from before went through his mind.

" _Should something happen to me…should I ever be separated from Jurabi," Dana said, "I want you to keep that boy smiling."_

"You must have known this would happen, Dana," Ken said, "That you would lose yourself. If only I had spoken up sooner…damnit…those wings…that black skin…there's no mistaking it…Dana…"

…

…

…

"…you've turned into a Grimm, haven't you?"

* * *

 **Jurabi: Heeeelloooooo~! This is Jurabi Therion bringing you another chapter of World of Vastel. My soul is absolutely dead inside. I killed Nitorin even harder in this remake version. I didn't think it was possible, but I did it. And worst of all, I turned Dana into a Grimm. It can't possibly get any worse than that…right?**

 **Well, it just might. Next chapter…it's gonna be a trainwreck of feels for Jurabi and Elise, I just know it.**

 **Now about the Therions, originally, I had it as a regular last name in the original version of this story, but this time I made it into an old family name that only Dana, Jurabi, and Elise officially have. And that's why this arc is still called "The Therion Arc".**

 **Anyways, guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter! If you did, please let me know in the reviews and leave a favorite and a follow and also join me on my own discord server to have a nice chat. Thank you very much for reading. See you next chapter~!**

 **Discord: (h) (t) (t) (p) (s) : / / discord . gg / yds39Vc**


	6. Therion Arc Chp 6: Zenith Grimm (Part 1)

**Therion Arc Chp 6: Zenith Grimm (Part 1)**

 _~~Argyros Hospital~~_

 _~~One Week Later~~_

"…Ngh…"

"Ah, he's starting to wake up," A male voice said.

Jurabi's eyes opened. His head was hurting a little and his body ached all over

"Jurabi," A female voice called, "Can you hear me?"

Once he got his bearing, Jurabi saw himself in a bed at a hospital room surrounded by the few people who were allowed to be in the room: Elise, Ken, and Aoife.

"Elise…?" Jurabi asked. He tried to move his body up, but an excruciating pain in his chest prevented him from moving too much.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Elise cried as she gave Jurabi a tight hug, "I-I thought you were never going to wake again!"

"H-huh?" Jurabi asked, completely confused, "Elise, where am I? How did I get here?"

"It's a long story, kid," Ken said, "You've been unconscious for a whole week."

"A-a whole week?!" Jurabi asked, in shock.

"Yes, a full week since…that night…" Aoife said, looking down at the hospital floor.

"Wait…that night?" Jurabi asked before he realized two other people were missing, "Elise, where's Mom and Dad?"

Elise froze up when Jurabi asked her the question. She moved back a little, bearing a sorrowful expression as she looked down at the ground.

"It's alright," Ken said, "I'll explain," He turned to Jurabi, a little hesitant to tell the boy the bad news, but he worked up the courage to do so, "Your Dad…he's not coming back, kid."

"N-not coming back?" Jurabi asked, tilting his head, "What do you mean?"

"Jurabi…" Elise began, tearing up, "What happened to Dad that night…He was…"

The memory immediately came rushing into Jurabi's mind—the image of Liviera taking out his father's eyeball, then beating his head with a club, and then plunging her rapier straight through his father's body.

"Agh!" Jurabi screamed, holding his head tightly trying to stop the pain.

"Jurabi!" Elise shouted in concern.

"N-no…that can't be…" Jurabi said as tears started to form in his eyes, "Daddy…he said we were all going to live happily ever after he scared away the Grimm. You're lying, Elise! You're lying!"

"I'm so sorry, Jurabi…" Elise said, tears falling down her cheeks, as she hugged her little brother again.

"Wh-what about Mommy?!" Jurabi asked, "Where is she?!"

Aoife looked over at Ken, who looked down when the question was asked.

"My friend, Ken here, was the last to see her," Aoife said.

Jurabi looked over to Ken, who looked conflicted at the moment, "Wh-where's my mom? Please, tell me."

"…" Ken closed her eyes, "She fell."

Jurabi's eyes widened before he asked, "F-fell?"

"…She fell into the Chasm of Black Souls," Ken said.

"I…I don't understand," Jurabi said, "How can she fall there?"

"She fell to save you," Ken said, "By the time I got to where you beacon was…what I saw…" Ken went silent for a moment before he continued, "Your mother was the one who saved you, but in exchange…she fell into the chasm."

"But…it's been a week," Jurabi said, "That's seven days. She hasn't come back yet?"

"No, she hasn't," Aoife said, "People all over Vunla are looking for her, but not one clue has appeared yet. Travel to the Chasm of Black Souls is forbidden, even for the strongest of hunters."

"…Mommy…" Jurabi whispered.

"It doesn't stop there," Aoife said as she took out a torn book, "Your home along with most of Southwest Argyros was destroyed by Ragnarok. This book was all I managed to find in somewhat of a good state."

"Th-that's…!" Jurabi took the book from Aoife's hands and read the title.

The Legend of the Vastel Guardians. The covers and pages of the book were all torn up, and some of the pages were missing entirely.

"Your mother's favorite childhood storybook," Aoife said, "I'm surprised it wasn't completely shredded given how old it was."

Jurabi broke down into a sobbing fit, "…Th-they promised…*sniff* we were going…to finish reading the book together…one day…"

"Jurabi…" Aoife said, feeling awful just by seeing the kid suffer.

"…" Ken said nothing as he gritted his teeth.

Elise pulled Jurabi into another warm hug as he let her little brother's tears soak her shirt, "I'm here for you, Jurabi. Let it all out."

"I…*sob* I want…Mommy and Daddy back…!" Jurabi sobbed and sobbed until he no longer had the energy to do anything.

The doctor soon returned and told Ken, Aoife, and Elise that visiting hours were over and that Jurabi needed rest.

The three did as told and stared at the door to Jurabi's room without uttering a single word.

"What's going to happen to me and Jurabi?" Elise asked, "We don't have our parents around anymore."

"Given the information about what happened last night, it is clear that your family was the prime target for the Eclipse," Aoife said, "Both of you will likely be relocated and put under protection until our investigation is complete."

"Under protection? Relocated?!" Elise asked, "But…would Jurabi be able to handle that?"

"He won't," Ken answered, "Knowing the Eclipse, those sick monsters likely forced Jurabi to watch his father be murdered. If that's the case, the boy might be mentally scarred for the rest of his life."

"This is my fault…" Elise whispered as her body shook.

"No it isn't, Elise," Aoife said, taking Elise's hands into her own, "You have nothing to blame yourself for. It's the Eclipse who did all of this."

"But still I…I feel like I've failed my parents and Jurabi," Elise said, "I still haven't forgiven myself letting him get taken from me," Elise said, "And now…Dad was killed after I was drugged. I should have been there to save him, but I wasn't…With Mom and Dad gone, he's all I have left. If I were to lose him too…" She held her hands close to her chest while fighting back the tears forming in her eyes.

Aoife smiled after hearing Elise say such words, "I can see you love your little brother a lot. I'm glad, but you must stay strong, Elise. You're all he has left too, and you need to do all you can to help him get through this."

The words her mother told her rang through Elise's head after hearing what Aoife told her.

" _Eventually, everyone will have someone who depends on them. It doesn't matter if you are ready for the responsibility or not, there will be people who will depend on you. And your brother is one of them, Elise. If the day comes when your father and I can no longer be around, I am counting on you to do what you think is best for him, because that is what your father and I are doing for both of you."_

"You're right…I can't doubt myself anymore," Elise said, "I may not be ready, but I'll still do everything I can to make sure Jurabi recovers from this and lives happily. I'll make that promise to Dad at his funeral."

"You really are her daughter," Ken muttered.

"That's wonderful to hear from you, Elise," Aoife said, "I'll do whatever I can to help your promise," She then remembered what Dana told her that night, "I promised Dana the same as well…"

 _"Should something happen to me…should I ever be separated from Jurabi, I want you to keep that boy smiling."_

Ken went silent after what Aoife said.

"Well in any case, thank you both for being with us," Elise said, "It's no wonder my mother thought highly of you. I need to be alone for a while. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," Aoife said, "Let us know if you need anything at all."

Elise nodded as she headed to the hospital exit to leave.

After Elise had left, Ken started to leave, but not before Aoife stopped him.

"What are you not telling us, Ken," Aoife said seriously, not even using his nickname.

Ken stopped and looked back, "What now?"

"Don't act dumb!" Aoife shouted, glaring at Ken, "You were the last person to see Dana and that was what you tell us?! What really happened out there, Ken! Answer me!"

"…I have nothing else to say about it," Ken said, turning away, "Dana fell into the Chasm of Souls. She's gone."

Aoife then grabbed Ken's shirt and slammed him against the wall with strong force, "BULLSHIT! DANA WOULD NEVER DIE LIKE THAT AND YOU KNOW IT!"

"Aoife, please," Ken said.

"You saw what I saw that night—whatever Dana was turning into after her husband died before her eyes!" Aoife shouted.

"The monster that she turned into…" Ken said, not looking in her eyes, "You know exactly what that was."

"Ngh!" Aoife groaned. She didn't want to admit it, but she would recognize the form Dana had turned into from anywhere, "But…that's not possible. It's never happened before in all of human history!"

"What do you want me to say, huh? Do you seriously want me to tell Dana's son that his mother turned into that monster after his father was brutally murdered?" Ken asked, "If you think he's that strong then go right ahead and tell him for me, but let me tell you that if you assume everyone can put up a smile like you can, you will break someone for the rest of their life. And no one will be smiling after that."

Aoife's grip loosened after hearing those words.

Ken held her arms and took them off his shirt, "Look, I get it. He deserves to know the full story, but not right now. All I can say is that Dana told me something that I cannot tell a single soul. Not even His Majesty…not even you."

"Huh? You were able to talk to her?" Aoife asked.

"…Yes," Ken said, looking around, "But I can't say anymore. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Aoife said as tears fell down her eyes. Whenever she cries like this, she always latches onto the first person in sight, which was usually Ken, "I shouldn't have gotten angry with you. I just…I don't know what to do without her. None of them did anything to deserve this."

This same thing happened when they lost Morgan. Aoife would cry like she never has before, and Ken would stay there silent as he let her cry in his arms.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Two Days Later~~_

Gerald arrived at the hospital and went to the front desk, "Excuse me. Is it visiting hours for Jurabi Alisen?"

"Why, yes, it is," The nurse said, "Please, right this way."

The nurse led Gerald to Jurabi's room, where Jurabi was resting.

"You're hear earlier than the others," The nurse said, "They should be here shortly."

"Of course, thank you," Gerald said.

Jurabi woke up after a bit of rest. He was still worn out and in a little pain, but he was still recovering.

"Having trouble sleeping, Jurabi?" Gerald asked, making the boy turn in his direction.

"M-Mr. Gerald?" Jurabi asked.

"How are you?" Gerald asked, "I know that's a stupid question to ask, but after I heard about what happened to your parents…I couldn't help but cry for you."

"…I'm sorry…" Jurabi said.

"For my crying?" Gerald asked, "Nah, don't be. Your father was my best friend. Losing him was…it was unbearable."

"Is it really true? Is my mommy gone too?" Jurabi asked.

"I hope not," Gerald said, "As long as we don't find her dead body during our search, there's hope. But Jurabi, I don't have enough time to stay with you when the others visit. I need to tell you what I told your sister."

"About what?" Jurabi asked.

"…We found the identity of the person in Alisen Industries who told the Eclipse everything about your father," Gerald said.

"The Eclipse?" Jurabi asked.

"The faunus terrorist group," Gerald said, "They seek nothing more than to destroy the peace between humanity and faunus kind through any means. Not only that, but they believe faunus should reign supreme over humanity throughout Vastel, so they target innocent humans…like your father. I even heard rumors that they even kill their own kind if they sympathize with humans."

"So those people from that night…were the Eclipse?" Jurabi asked, "That woman…who killed my dad?"

"That's right," Gerald said, "And this is the person who sold your father out to those terrorists!" He said showing him a picture of Doctor Vongarus.

"Is that the lady from the other day?" Jurabi asked.

"Yes, her name is Rachel Vongarus," Gerald said, "We found evidence of your father's office being tampered with along with her leaking information on your father to an unknown recipient through her computer logs. Given how your father trusted her a lot, it makes sense that she would be able to access his computer in the first place. That is how the Eclipse knew about where you lived."

"B-but that doesn't explain why they wanted me," Jurabi said.

"Whatever the reason is, it's clear that your father was betrayed by a faunus and killed by another one," Gerald said, "To think that the faunus would stoop so low as to harm a kid like that for power."

"What happened to Mrs. Vongarus?" Jurabi asked.

"Dr. Vongarus was arrested for her crimes and was sent back to her kingdom, Staneia, to face trials," Gerald said, "She'll likely receive life, given how her actions caused the death of a good man."

"B-but…why?" Jurabi asked, "Why would…the faunus do that to my daddy? Daddy did nothing wrong!" He shouted as tears formed in his eyes again.

"Your father never wanted to tell you this because you were too young, but after what you've seen…you deserve to know the truth," Gerald said, "The faunus have a terrible habit of lying to others. They only show interest if you have something they want, and when they get that thing they want, they abandon you to a horrible fate."

"B-But…aren't we friends with them?!" Jurabi asked.

"With some faunus, but not all," Gerald said, "Heck, faunus are willing to lie to their own people to get what they want. I'm sorry, Jurabi, but…that's how the world is. You don't need to believe me if you don't wish to, but I told you my thoughts on the matter."

Jurabi's eyes turned to his bed sheets, not wanting to believe what Gerald told him.

"In any case, I have received permission from the Hunter Council to take you into the company's protection until we learn more about the Eclipse," Gerald said, "As from today, you and your sister will be relocated to a hidden residence unknown to anyone outside of your father's group of trusted people, including myself. I hope this isn't too much on you."

"…I-It's fine…" Jurabi said, "I'm…I need to grow up so…I can take it…"

Gerald nodded as he stood up and walked towards the door, "We'll talk later, Jurabi. I have a meeting to attend to," Before he could leave, he turned back to the boy, "I want you to know your father loved you. He spoke highly about you at every lunch break we had together. I don't know what will become of Alisen Industries, but we could use a talented person like you—a person with remarkable building skills. I hope you consider joining once you become 18," He said before he left the hospital room.

Jurabi lied down again on his hospital bed. He thought of his dad. He thought of his mother. Both of their images in his mind were smiling sweetly at him.

"Daddy…Mommy…"

Jurabi wanted so badly to reach out and hug them like he always could, but their images became engulfed in darkness.

"…I'll…" He started feeling something sinister clouding his entire mind.

 _"Life can be unfair sometimes, Jurabi. How we grow past that unfairness is the real question you should be asking."_

"…I'll never…" He felt his heart being covered in darkness.

 _"…Daddy…loves you…and always will…cross my heart…and hope to…make you smile…my little guardian…"_

"…forgive…" And finally, his soul.

 _"Take a good look, little one. You're about to see what my kind wishes upon yours."_

" _ **I'LL NEVER FORGIVE THOSE FAUNUS!"**_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Industries~~_

 _~~Ten Years Ago~~_

Ever since the Eclipse attack on Argyros ten years ago, the city has gone through reconstruction and tightened security. The southwestern parts of the city were rebuilt and the people were back to living their daily lives.

At the Argyros Ceremony being held at Alisen Industries, a slideshow presentation of Jurabi Alisen was being shown to the crowds of people at the massive dining hall.

"Jurabi Alisen," Said the voice on the slide show presentation, "The prodical son. The genius. Vulna's Mechanical Prince. Even from an early age, the son of legendary weapon's developer, Nitorin Alisen, quickly stole the spotlight with his brilliant and unique mind. At age 4, he built his first circuit board. At age 6, his first engine. At age 8, his first Hunters weapon which won his first his school science fair. Then…the passing of a hero. Nirotin Alisen's life-long friend and ally, Gerald Achilles stepped in to help fill the gap left by the legendary founder of Alisen Industries until at age 18, the prodigal son returns and is anointed the new CEO of Alisen Industries. With the keys to the kingdom, Jurabi ushers in a new era for his father's legacy by creating smarter weapons, advanced robotics, satellite targeting. Today, Jurabi Alisen has changed the face of the weapon's industry by ensuring freedom and protecting Vastel and her interests throughout all of Vastel."

Applause filled the dining hall as Gerald stepped onto the podium with a shiny gold trophy in his hand.

"As the proud Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Alisen Industries, I've had the unique privilege of serving with a true patriot dedicated to the safety of our world," Gerald said through the microphone on the podium, "He is my friend and my greatest student. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present this year's Vulna Award to Mr. Jurabi Alisen!"

Everyone in the audience let out a loud round of applause and cheers throughout the dining hall; however, Jurabi was nowhere to be found.

Gerald looked for Jurabi in the crowd, bearing an awkward smile, "Ah yes, he's not here. Well he never attends these ceremonies because, well, he always wins them," He along with the crowd laughed at his joke, "Well, on behalf on Jurabi, I would like to thank you. Thank you all so much for this…beautiful trophy. You know, looking after the boy for as long as I have, you'll realize one of the greatest things about him which, on the other hand, is also the worst thing about him: He's always working."

The audience laughed at Gerald's joke.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~New Alisen Residence~~_

 _~~Three Hours Later~~_

Jurabi, an eighteen-year-old at this time, was holed up in his workshop within the new residence he and his sister were sent to live at for their protection. There, the boy spends entire days building equipment and fixing broken machines and weapons. Currently, he is busy fixing an old car's combustion engine.

"Okay…a compression in the third cylinder," Jurabi said, "That shouldn't be hard to fix."

That was when he heard the door to the workshop open behind him. His older sister, Elise, walked into the workshop with an annoyed expression painted on her face.

"Jurabi, we need to talk," Elise said.

"Elise, what did I say about entering my workshop before knocking?" Jurabi asked.

"Sorry, but you are supposed to be at the ceremony three hours ago," Elise said.

"And do what? Pick up my tenth Vastel Award?" Jurabi asked, not paying any attention to Elise, "I'm not sure why they just don't send me a message telling me I won and send me the trophy via mail. Besides, did you forget we're not allowed to leave this house? Been that way for ten years."

"I know that but…" Elise let out a sigh, "Don't you think we've been kept here long enough?"

"We are not about to have this conversation again," Jurabi said, "Just drop it."

"But I can't," Elise said, "I'm just worried, that's all."

"Worried about what?" Jurabi asked, stopping his work, "No one else knows about this place except for trusted people."

"It's not that," Elise said, "It's about these weapons you've been building…"

"What about them?" Jurabi asked, "The weapons I've built have been used by trusted hunters and the military. You'll have to forgive me because I don't see any reason to worry there."

"…No…I'm sorry," Elise said with a smile, "I must be getting paranoid."

"No kidding," Jurabi said grabbing her by her arms, "But I can't say I blame you. Ever since we lost Mom and Dad, you've been…different."

"So, have you," Elise said, "Sometimes I wonder if you and the Jurabi from long ago were really the same person."

"…Maybe he was," Jurabi said, looking down at the ground, "In any case, I need to get back to work."

"Again?" Elise asked.

"Yes, this car isn't fixing itself," Jurabi said, before he turned to his sister again, "In the meantime, what would you like to eat for tonight? I was thinking about grilling some fish."

"No thanks," Elise said, "I already have plans for today."

"Plans?" Jurabi asked, "I don't like it when you have plans."

"I'm allowed to have plans on my birthday," Elise said.

"It's your birthday?" Jurabi asked.

"Two days from now," Elise answered.

"I knew that," Jurabi said, "Already?"

"Yeah, strange isn't it?" Elise asked sarcastically, "It's the same date as every year."

"Well…" Jurabi said, "Buy yourself something nice for me, will you?"

"Thanks, but I already did," Elise said.

"And?" Jurabi asked, curiously.

"A week long cruise trip," Elise said, "Thanks, Little Bro."

"You're welcome, Big Sis," Jurabi said, "I wish I could smile, but—"

"I know," Elise said, "You can't smile or laugh, but as a great man said: Actions speak louder than words."

"You can say that again," Jurabi said as he went to prepare for his trip, "Have fun at your birthday trip with your friends."

"I will. Don't destroy the place while I'm gone," Elise said as she left the room with a smile.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~One Day Later~~_

Jurabi was alone at the house until he heard a knock at the door. He went over to the door and saw through a peephole and saw Gerald on the other side.

"Mr. Achilles," Jurabi said to him after opening the door.

"Hey, Jurabi~! How has my star student been?" Gerald asked.

"Same as usual," Jurabi said, "Just finished fixing this car that was sent to me. Other than that, nothing much."

"Isn't your sister's birthday tomorrow?" Gerald asked, "Where is she?"

"She's out on vacation for her birthday," Jurabi said, opening the refrigerator, "A paid cruise trip."

"Ah, that's nice of you to do for her," Gerald said as he saw Jurabi hand him a bottle of wine, "Just as nice as you giving me this."

"I mean, you sometimes drop by here to drink some of that wine," Jurabi said, "I don't know why you bother keeping it here instead of your own house."

"Don't give me that," Gerald said, "You know that in my house I have to share my stuff, and I'm not sharing my wine with anyone. So, what better place to put it than in the house of a girl who doesn't drink and a boy too young to legally drink?"

"I'm eighteen," Jurabi corrected.

"Oh yes, and your birthday is coming up next month too," Gerald said, "Well I have some good news for you. Your recent weapon project was accepted by the Hunter Council and they're going to ask for a live test."

"Really now?" Jurabi asked.

"Yep, the test is going to be three days from now at Ark base to the south near the border of Igarus," Gerald said, "The Hunter Council want you to be present to lead the presentation personally."

"Me?" Jurabi asked, "Isn't that dangerous? I'm under strict orders not to leave this establishment."

"It will be alright this time," Gerald said, "There hasn't been activity from the Eclipse aside from a few skirmishes with hunters on patrol. Besides, I'm sure you'll be safe at the demonstration with military personnel there."

Jurabi took time to contemplate his decision until he nodded, "Alright, if you say it's safe."

"I know it's safe," Gerald said, patting Jurabi's back after finishing his wine, "I didn't teach you everything your father knew for ten years just have you die out there. Anyways, it's been good talking with you. I hope the presentation goes well."

After Gerald left, Jurabi let out a sigh, "Now the question is will I be able to talk to people properly…"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~South Vunla: Ark Base~~_

 _~~Three Days Later~~_

Jurabi's private jet arrived at a Vulna Base south of Argyros City named Ark Base. After boarding off the plane, Jurabi was greeted by a Vulna general.

"General," Jurabi greeted as he extended his hand.

"Mr. Alisen," The Vulna general greeted as he shook Jurabi's hand, "Welcome to Ark Base. My men and I have been looking forward to your weapons presentation."

"Well I assure you; your patience shall be rewarded once you see this weapon," Jurabi said.

The general lead Jurabi to the proper testing sight for his weapon: A barren wasteland with no sign of life with small mountains beyond the horizon.

Once the weapon, a giant gun that had the barrel of a sniper rifle, was in position, Jurabi began his speech.

"Hello, I am Jurabi Alisen, head of Alisen Industries," Jurabi began, "Now I want you soldiers to ask yourselves: Is it better to be feared or respected? If you ask me, I would answer both. With that in mind, I humbly present the crown jewel of Alisen Industries' latest weapon. It's the first weapon to incorporate our Grimm technology. The Hunter Council and the governments of both humanity and faunus say the best weapon is one you never have to fire. I, however, respectfully disagree. I believe the best weapon is one you only fire once. That's how my father did it. That's how humanity did it, and it's worked out well so far. All you need is an excuse to let this Rail Gun do its job and I personally guarantee you that the Eclipse and Grimm won't even come out of their caves."

Jurabi gave the signal to the man arming Rail Gun and fire when ready. The gun was then aimed at the mountains in the distance and fired. The sheer speed of the blast was strong enough to cause the clouds to shift and it was strong enough to punch a massive hole through the mountain.

"For your consideration, brave soldiers of Vulna, I present to you…The Archammer," Jurabi said as the entire mountain behind him was brought to ruin. The destruction was so powerful it sent a gust of wind, knocking some soldiers off their footing.

Knowing his presentation was a success, Jurabi opened up a crate full of champagne bottles complimented with wine glasses.

"And with every purchase of five hundred Archammers, I'll throw in a champagne box for free. Compliments from Gerald Achilles himself. Thank you for watching this presentation and I hope you consider these weapons into the military arsenal," He said as he walked towards the military truck that brought him to the test site.

His phone rang a familiar ringtone. Without looking, Jurabi opened his phone and began talking, "Gerald."

" _Jurabi,"_ Gerald's voice said through the phone.

"Sir, what are you doing up so early? It's six a.m. where I'm at," Jurabi said, "Aren't you supposed to be resting your back pain?"

" _I couldn't sleep without knowing how your presentation went,"_ Gerald said, _"So?"_

"It went great," Jurabi said, "I predict we're going to have a very Merry."

" _Nice!"_ Gerald shouted, _"Way to go, my boy. I'll see you tomorrow in Argyros, alright?"_

"Sure," Jurabi said, "Just curious, are you wearing those teddy bear pajamas I bought you for your birthday last month?"

" _Goodnight, Jurabi,"_ Gerald said, hanging up the phone.

Jurabi shook his head as he entered the military truck, "Every time I mention those pajamas…I thought he liked teddy bears."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~En Route to Ark Base~~_

 _~~Thirty Minutes Later~~_

Jurabi rode in the military truck with three Vulnan soldiers, one of which was driving the truck. For thirty minutes, the ride has been nothing but awkward silence and glances from the soldiers and Jurabi.

But Jurabi wasn't a fan of silence so he thought of something funny to say, "I feel like you're driving me to court martial. Did I do something wrong?" More awkward silence from the soldiers. Jurabi turned to the soldier sitting beside him who looked younger than the other two soldiers, "You guys aren't going to pull over and snuff me, are you? Are you not allowed to talk or something? Excuse me, Forest."

"We can talk, sir," The young soldier said.

"Oh, I see. So, is it personal?" Jurabi asked.

"No, you intimidate them, Mr. Alisen," Said the soldier who turned out to be a woman.

"Oh my, you're a woman!" Jurabi shouted stoically which made the other two men soldiers smile a little, "I honestly…I couldn't have called that. I mean, I would apologize, but isn't that what we're going for here? I thought of you as a soldier first."

"I'm an airman," The woman soldier said.

"Well, you have actually excellent bone structure there, ma'am," Jurabi said, "I'm kinda... having a hard time not looking at you now. Is that weird? I'm not creeping you out, am I? You're not gonna sue me and ruin my career if I look at you funny, right?"

The three soldiers all busted out in laughter.

"Okay, you can laugh," Jurabi said, "That's a relief."

"Sir, I have a question to ask," Said the soldier in the co-driver seat.

"Yes, please," Jurabi said.

"It is true you went twelve-for-twelve with last year's Vulna cover models?" The soldier asked.

"That is an excellent question," Jurabi said, "Yes and no. On March I had a scheduling conflict, but fortunately the Christmas cover last year was twins. Anything else?" He asked as he saw the young soldier next to him raise his hand which made Jurabi cringe inside, "You're kidding me with a hand up, right? This isn't Elementary School."

"I'm sorry, but is it cool if I take a picture with you, Mr. Alisen?" The young soldier asked.

"Of course," Jurabi said, "I love pictures."

The young soldier smiled and took out his camera and gave it to the soldier in the co-driver seat. Both he and Jurabi got into a good position to take the picture.

"I don't want to see this on your fan page, okay?" Jurabi said as he saw the soldier throw up a peace sign, "Please, no peace signs," He said as he watched the soldier put the peace sign down, which made him want chuckle despite not being able to, "No, throw it up, I'm kidding," He said as the soldier put his peace sign up again.

But when the soldier with the camera was taking long with taking the picture, the young soldier was getting impatient, "C'mon! Just click it."

"You guys seem a bit too bright from here," The soldier said.

"Look, don't change the settings, just click it," The young soldier replied.

 _ ***BOOM***_

A large explosion occurred onto the military truck in front of them causing the vehicle to come to a full halt.

"WHOA!" The girl soldier shouted.

Gun shots were being heard from all directions in the car.

"Contact! Left!" The soldier in the co-driver seat shouted.

"Get Mr. Alisen to safety!" The girl soldier shouted before she kicked the truck door open after grabbing her rifle, but was quickly shot down and killed.

"What's going on?" Jurabi asked with a confused but fearful expression.

"Hayden, stay with Alisen!" The co-driver soldier shouted as he grabbed his rifle and jumped out of the truck.

"Lie down!" The soldier named Hayden shouted as he brought Jurabi's head down onto the seat.

The co-driver soldier shot several bullets from his rifle towards the attacker before he was shot full of holes and killed.

"Son of a bitch!" Hayden shouted as he grabbed his rifle and proceeded to open the truck door on his side.

"Wait, wait, give me a gun!" Jurabi shouted.

"Stay here!" Hayden shouted before he closed the truck door, but was soon shot down and killed.

The shot that killed Hayden blew a hole through the window and caused a loud bang, making Jurabi's ear drums ring loudly.

Not wanting to sit around for his death, Jurabi ran out of the truck through the door on his side. However, he was met with trouble from flying bullets and rockets hitting the ground causing Jurabi to lose his footing at every step. Jurabi managed to find a big rock to hide behind. He took out his phone and tried to call the Ark Base, but he was interrupted when a small missile landed a few feet in front of him. To Jurabi's surprise, the missile had the Alisen Industries brand on it.

Jurabi tried to stand up and get as far as he could from the missile, but it was too late as the missile exploded on him point black. The explosion sent Jurabi flying into a military truck. His body crashed face down into the ground, his blood pouring everyone. A glass shard punctured a part of his heart. Soon…Jurabi lost consciousness.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Unknown Location~~_

 _~~One Week Later~~_

Jurabi had no memory of what happened after he lost consciousness aside from feeling absolute pain in his chest.

His eyes opened up and his breathing quickly turned into panting. Jurabi was afraid, confused, and pained—all of which were clearly written on his face.

Jurabi searched around the unknown room he was in. It looked like an abandoned laboratory that had some ice forming on the walls. It was so cold Jurabi's own breathes were visible.

That was when Jurabi noticed a small tube sticking out of his nose. He began pulling it out despite how long it was and eventually yanked it off. He looked over to his left as saw a small pot full of water. Feeling thirsty, Jurabi tried to reach over and grab the pot, but he stopped when he heard the sound of a woman humming.

Jurabi looked beyond the pot and saw a red-haired woman wearing a thick, black coat staring at a mirror as she was rearranging her hair in the shape of a pony tail.

Not wanting to draw her attention, Jurabi tried again to grab the water pot silently, but a loud sound was made behind him as he felt a tug around his chest.

"I wouldn't move like that if I were you," The red-haired woman said.

"Wh-wha…?" Jurabi asked as he turned to his right side and saw a heavy car battery with chords connecting somewhere. Jurabi followed the chords to his chest, "What…the…?" Jurabi felt something resting on top of his chest. Curious yet also frightened, he began tearing apart the bandages covering the mysterious object. What he saw was a terrifying sight. There was a black, circular object resting on his chest like a leach. It looked to be a part of his body despite clearly not belonging there.

"Relax," The red-haired woman said as she sat down next to Jurabi, "You've been unconscious for a full week."

"A-a full week?" Jurabi asked, "Wh-what the hell happened to me? Where am I?! What is this thing in my chest?!"

"Please, Mr. Alisen," The red-haired woman said, "If you stress level gets too high…you'll turn into a monster."

"What?" Jurabi asked as the red-haired woman pointed towards his chest. When Jurabi looked down, he saw his skin beginning to turn black, "What…the hell…?"

"Now calm down, less you become one of _them_ ," The woman said.

After Jurabi calmed down, the red-haired girl offered him some soup she cooked.

"I know you had plenty of questions before, Mr. Alisen," The woman said, "So this time, ask them one at a time, okay?"

"…Okay," Jurabi said, "First, what the hell happened to me?"

"What happened?" The woman repeated, "You nearly died last week, Mr. Alisen, but I saved your life. I removed as much of the fire dust as I could, but there's a lot left and they're heading to your atrial septal," She took out a small capsule and tossed it to Jurabi, "This is a souvenir from your surgery."

Jurabi caught the capsule and examined the small bits of fire dust in the capsule.

"I've seen many wounds like that in my village," The woman said, "We have a different name depending on the type of dust we find. In your case, we call it The Burning Scarecrows because it takes two weeks for the fire dust to activate. You've been through the basic studies, so I'm sure you are aware that dust self-activates if they're not sealed properly. Without that chest piece you have, your heart would suddenly set on fire in about one more week."

"This thing?" Jurabi asked, pointing at his mysterious chest piece.

"Yes," The woman said, "That is a dust nullifier hooked up to a car battery. It's what's keeping the fire dust from entering your heart and is what will prevent your heart from burning."

"…Is there a way to get my body back to normal?" Jurabi asked.

"With wounds deep enough for that much fire dust to enter?" The woman asked before shaking her head, "No. You will have this for the rest of your life."

"Where are we?" Jurabi asked.

"Judging from the cold, I say we're somewhere in the kingdom of Staneia in the far southwest," The woman said, "This place used to be a laboratory that was said to be used 700 years ago, but who can say?"

Jurabi looked up at the ceiling and noticed a camera pointed at them.

"That's right, smile," The woman said sarcastically, "I'm sure you're wondering who I am, aren't you?"

"Yes, that is one of the questions I asked," Jurabi said.

"Are you certain you want to know?" The woman asked, "You won't like the answer."

"Why?" Jurabi asked as he took a good look at the woman's face. What caught his eye were the goat horns hidden in her red hair, "Wait…you're not…"

"That's right," The woman said, "I am Rachel Vongarus. I was a former assistant of your father and a former doctor as well, until…"

"…Until you betrayed my father," Jurabi said, his anger starting to build up.

"Mr. Alisen…I beg of you to please—"

"YOU TWO! ON YOUR FEET!" A voice shouted from the metal doors to their room.

Jurabi saw a pair of eyes peeking through a small window on the door.

"Stand up, Mr. Alisen," Rachel said as she stood up.

"Huh?" Jurabi asked.

"I said stand up!" Rachel shouted as she forced Jurabi up to his feet before she whispered, "Do as I do. Put your hands behind your head."

As the two put their hands behind their heads, the metal doors opened and a group of men walked through carrying rifles with the Alisen Industries logo on them.

"Wait…are those my weapons?" Jurabi asked, "How did a bunch of ruffians get my weapons?"

"Be quiet, Mr. Alisen!" Rachel whispered loudly, "Don't say anything we'll both regret, do you hear me?"

In the center of the group of armed men was tall, bearded man with short, black hair wearing a brown, snow coat with a blue ring on his left index finger, "Welcome, Jurabi Alisen! We are honored to have the privilege of meeting the most famous faunus killer in Vastel."

"Faunus killer?" Jurabi asked.

"Ah, of course," The man said, "Where are my manners? You may call me Hakruma. You see, we are your new customers, Mr. Alisen, and we have an important order for you," Hakruma took out a picture and showed it to Jurabi. The picture was of the Archammer he presented last week.

"The Archammer?" Jurabi asked.

"That gun you demonstrated last week caught our eye and we wish to have them as a part of our arsenal," Hakruma said, "And who better to make them than the genius of technology himself? What say you, Jurabi Alisen?"

"I refuse," Jurabi said without hesitation.

"…That's right, my mistake. I forgot to mention…" Hakruma said before he grabbed Jurabi by his neck and slammed his body against the cold wall, "We aren't _asking_ you to build them."

"Please stop," Rachel said, "He doesn't understand what you are asking of him yet."

"He will understand soon enough," Hakruma said, "You think that chest piece you have will keep you alive forever, Mr. Alisen? It will soon run out of power in two months' time and we don't have plans on providing you with another. So, you have no choice but to cooperate, less your heart burns to ashes," He let go of Jurabi.

Jurabi coughed as he rubbed his aching throat.

"Bring them both outside," Hakruma said to his men, "Make sure their heads are covered."

Jurabi and Rachel were both taken through the ice-cold cave with black sack bags placed on their face to obscener their vision.

Once outside, the armed men took out their bags.

Jurabi saw an entire encampment of armed men in the area outside the cave. Both he and Rachel were forced through the encampment, which was crowded with shipment boxes of materials, weapons, and dust with the Alisen Industries logo on them.

"What do you think, Mr. Alisen?" Hakruma asked.

"I think you have a lot of my weapons," Jurabi said.

"Indeed," Hakruma said, "Here, we have everything you need to recreate your Archammer. All you need are the list of materials to bring to your cave to begin your work immediately. Once we have our order, we will set you free. So, I ask you again, Jurabi Alisen, what say you?"

Jurabi paused briefly before he reached out his hand for a handshake.

Hakruma took the handshake with a smile.

"Something tells me you won't hold up your end of the bargain, Hakruma," Jurabi said, "But I'm on a time clock, so we'll see if I'm wrong about you."

"You have my word," Hakruma said, "A proud member of the Twilight Syndicate never goes back on his word; especially with a fellow human such as you."

Afterwards, Jurabi and Rachel were brought back into the cave and shut out from the outside.

Jurabi sat in front of a fire contemplating whether he should go along with the deal like he said, or not.

"Please tell me you only told him what you wanted him to hear, Mr. Alisen," Rachel said.

"I did, but now I'm in a bind since they'll be expecting the rail gun," Jurabi said, "And there's no guarantee they'll let me go after I give them the weapon. My only hope now is to pray that…someone out there is looking for me."

"And I'm sure they are, Mr. Alisen," Rachel said, "However, we are deep in the southwestern ice mountains of Staneia. I doubt anyone will find us in these mountains. Even if they did, there's no assurance they will succeed in saving us."

"Hakruma said something about the Twilight Syndicate, correct?" Jurabi asked.

"Yes," Rachel said, "They're an infamous terrorist organization that has plagued all of faunus kind for years. The reason they want the Archammer for their own is for their own mission to wreak havoc on faunus villages and spread fear throughout our two kingdoms."

"Odd, that's no different from what the Eclipse wish upon my kind," Jurabi said.

"Look, Mr. Alisen, what you just saw our there is what father's legacy has come to," Rachel said, "His life work in the hands of those murderers! Is that what you want?"

"…Don't mention my father around me…" Jurabi said, shaking a little, "You think…I didn't know of the rumors that went around about my weapons being used to kill faunus? Well I did know, but I chose to ignore it…because something in my heart told me the faunus deserved it."

"…Because of what happened to your father," Rachel said.

"I used to be so interested in faunus kind, Dr. Vongarus," Jurabi said, "I had faunus friends at my middle school, but then I…I changed for the worse after my father died. I started blaming my faunus friends for things they didn't do, destroying my friendships with them, I fired a lot of my faunus workers when they did nothing wrong…"

"That isn't like you, Mr. Alisen," Rachel said, "There can only be one explanation."

"What explanation?" Jurabi asked.

"When I was conducting my surgery on you, I noticed that your blood had an abnormal color," Rachel said as she took out a capsule full of black liquid, "Grimm blood."

"…Grimm blood?" Jurabi asked, "How is that…?!"

"I've read stories about this," Rachel said, "They said there was a man who was also turned into a Grimm; however, the transition was incomplete. As a result, this person exhibited unusual behaviors and actions."

"And you're saying I'm like this person because of me being a Grimm?" Jurabi asked.

"It's a theory at best," Rachel said, "But I hope it's proven correct because you, Mr. Alisen, are not the kind of person who wishes death upon my people. Your father told me as much. The Grimm side of you, however, wants you to."

"…I…I don't know what to say…" Jurabi said.

"You don't need to say anything right now," Rachel said, "We have bigger things to worry about, like the Twilight Syndicate."

"They have my company's weapons," Jurabi said, "I don't know how but they have them. If my father were still alive, he never would have allowed this to happen."

"You don't like the fact that they have your weapons?" Rachel asked rhetorically, "What are you going to do about it then?"

"There's nothing I _can_ do about it," Jurabi said, "If I try anything, they'll kill me and you. Even if they don't, I'll probably be dead in a month at most."

"Well then…" Rachel said, "This is an important month for you, isn't it?"

"Important in what way?" Jurabi asked, "I know that this dust nullifier is running on a car battery so…Wait…" Jurabi said as he started feeling the dust nullifier, "You said there's fire dust in my heart, right?"

"Yes?" Rachel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"…Let's call those guys over. I already have my list ready," Jurabi said.

"Wait what?" Rachel asked.

Jurabi was moving way too fast for Rachel to keep up. Before she knew it, the Twilight Syndicate members were already moving stuff around in the area and placing the materials and dust in the required areas.

"This is going to be my work station, so I'll need it well lit!" Jurabi shouted, "I'm going to need welding gear, a sautering station, helmets, goggles, a smelting cup, two sets of precision tools, all the elements of dust you have…" And he went on and on with the list of materials he needed.

Once their building station was all set up, Jurabi placed one of the missiles onto their large work table and was already picking off the nose cone to unseal it.

"So, about these Twilight people, anything else I should know about them?" Jurabi asked.

"Well, just from observing my surroundings, I'd say the Twilight Syndicate are more resourceful than a normal terrorist group," Rachel said as she watched Jurabi take off the nose cone and pull out a circuit board used to power the missile, "To be able get your weapons in such quality and quantity, they are likely getting help from someone of a high position of power."

"I see," Jurabi said as he put another missile onto the table and opened up the nose cone, "Anything else? How about their history?"

"Not much is known, I'm afraid," Rachel said, "Their soldiers seem to adopt a code that makes them value their cause over their life. Not a single one of those terrorists have been interrogated because they kill themselves before they are even captured."

"Talk about devotion…" Jurabi muttered.

"You know, we might be more productive if you include me in the planning process?" Rachel asked.

"Of course, just a second," Jurabi said as he took out a special container that had a tiny red, glowing rock in it. Jurabi took the rock out with a pair of tweezers.

"What is that?" Rachel asked.

"This…is a Grimm core: .15 grams. Judging from it's size, it's likely from a Beowolf. There were used in the creation process of hunter weapons strengthen their damage to Grimm bodies," Jurabi said, "We need at least 1.6 grams of these cores, so why don't you break down the others just like how I did?"

As the two continued with their work, the Twilight Syndicate members remained near the observation room to watch over their work.

"Alright, next we need to synthesis the dust we have," Jurabi said.

"Synthesis?" Rachel said, "But synthesizing the dust won't guarantee new dust types."

"We're not looking for a new dust type," Jurabi said as he took out the Grimm cores Rachel collected, which were now turned to dust, "The cores are going to be our base in the synthesis process."

"Combining all the 8 dust types: fire, water, earth, wind, thunder, ice, light, and darkness, with a Grimm core?" Rachel asked.

Jurabi nodded as he began cooking the dust over a smelting pot on a fire to liquefy them, "Now to combine the right dust particles."

"Based on the powers the seven Elder Grimm possess," Rachel said, "Laventia, the Ocean Fox with Zerena, the Sheercold Giant: Water and Ice. Momasu, the King of Lightning with Istana, the Wind Master: Thunder and Wind. Goral, the Earth Serpent: Earth, and Ragnarök, the Shadow Dragon with Solaris, the Burning Star Phoenix: Darkness and Fire."

"Then we add Light Dust on top like of each like so," Jurabi said as he combined the right dust liquids together until there were only four, shiny cups left.

"Wait, by combining those eight dust types together with a Grimm core, you don't plan to—"

"So you're finally catching on," Jurabi said grabbing two mixtures, "Give me both your hands because we need to time this perfectly."

Rachel grabbed onto the last two mixtures and stood on opposite sides of the table with the Grimm core placed inside a cylinder cup in the middle.

"We need to be careful, now," Jurabi said, "We only have one shot at this."

"Relax," Rachel said, "I have steady hands. Why else do you think you're still alive?"

"Point taken," Jurabi said as they were both in position to pour the mixtures, "Now!"

They poured the mixtures into the Grimm core in unison. The synthesis process resulted in a tiny explosion, but nothing deadly. Jurabi and Rachel both stared at the new creation, which appeared to be a light blue mixture.

"Whoa…" Rachel said in awe.

"Now, we need to turn a liquid into a solid," Jurabi said as he placed the mixture into a circular container and placed the container into a slightly larger container filled with ice-cold water from the nearby lake, "Keep an eye on that for me. I'm going to make the stabilizers."

As Rachel kept watch over the combined mixtures, Jurabi spent the next few hours building circular dust stabilizers. Once the mixtures had completely frozen solid, Jurabi took them out and added the stabilizers around the frozen mixture and finally hooked them both to a circuit board to power it up. The new creation shined light blue as it began to activate.

Rachel looked at it with bewildered eyes as she is at a loss for words, "That…doesn't look like an Archammer."

"That's because this is a miniature Dust Reactor Core," Jurabi said, "As a kid, I always saw my dad trying to combine dust the way we did to make something. Alisen Industries attempted to perfect the art of combining dust in hopes of discovering a new type, but we always ended up with already discovered dust elements. It was only after you gave me this dust nullifier that I realized what we were missing: a core from a Grimm, freezing temperatures, and the proper dust stabilizer. With this, I won't ever have to worry about the fire dust entering my heart."

"It will keep the dust out of your heart?" Rachel asked, "What could it possibly generate to do something like that?"

"If my math is right, and I am very confident in my math, three gigajoules per second," Jurabi answered.

"That can run your heart for 50 life cycles," Rachel said.

"…Or power something for 15 minutes," Jurabi said as he took out several sheets of paper and placed them on their work table. On the surface, they look like random parts with no coherent structure, "This is our ticket out of here."

"What is it?" Rachel asked.

"You said before that I was a Grimm. That gave me an idea on this project. All I need to do is flatten the papers out and…" When he flattened out the papers, all of the drawn pieces came together to reveal a suit of armor with a Grimm mask covering the face.

"You'll utilize your Grimm powers…" Rachel said, "An impressive idea, but a risky one."

"You're right," Jurabi said, "There's no guarantee I'll be able to control myself if I transform, but we have no other chance but this."

"There won't be any turning back once we start," Rachel warned.

"I wouldn't have made this Dust Reactor if I had doubts on this plan," Jurabi said.

"Of course," Rachel said, realizing why Jurabi made the Dust Reactor, "Grimm are naturally weak against dust, but dust is also weakened when frozen. By making that Dust Reactor, you opened up the chance to use your Grimm powers without the risk of losing yourself to the power."

"And if I can hook this armor up to my Dust Reactor, which also has the Grimm core in it, I might be able to even control my Grimm powers enough to get us out of here," Jurabi said.

Rachel let out an amused giggle, "You're just like your father, you know that? You both are always trying to come up with some crazy idea."

"…Yeah," Jurabi said, "I guess that runs in the family. Speaking of which, what about you, Dr. Vongarus?"

"Me?" Rachel asked, "I live in a small town called Hellavese. It's a nice place, despite the sheer cold. There, I lived a quiet, peaceful life with my husband, Julias, and my precious five-year-old son, Mavin."

"You miss them?" Jurabi asked.

"More than you can imagine," Rachel said as she sat down on a chair, "Julias always loved eating fruit, despite the cold preventing our town to grow crops. We always had to rely on shipping to get our food. Like your father, Julias always loved tinkering with stuff, but because Ganvie isn't known for technology, he didn't have much to work on."

"I see," Jurabi said, "He probably should have moved to Vulna since that kingdom's well known for innovative technology."

"I told him that several times, but Julias loved the snow more than anything in the world," Rachel said, "My son is no different. Every day I would see Mavin play around in the snow with his cute stuffed koala toy, then he'd get too cold and I end up having to cook him some warm food and hot chocolate while keeping him bundled up in a blanket."

"…Sounds like a wonderful family," Jurabi said, staring at the floor with colorless eyes.

Rachel felt her heart ache when she realized she talked too much about her family and ended up reminding Jurabi of his own parents, "…Mr. Alisen…"

"No, don't mind me," Jurabi said, "Keep going. I'm interested in your family."

"I can't," Rachel said, "I have to tell you the truth about what happened to your father…"

"…" Jurabi tried to control the anger building up each time his father was mentioned, but he couldn't hold it back any longer, "How could you betray him, Dr. Vongarus?" He asked, turning to Rachel with a cold glare filled with hatred, "What did my father do to deserve having his life taken from him?! If you hadn't told the Eclipse everything about him and Project Therion…" He clenched his fists so hard they shook viciously.

"That's the thing. I didn't betray your father, Mr. Alisen," Rachel said, "I would never betray a man as dedicated to saving the world as Nitorin was. Your father was an inspiration to me and all of faunus kind because he helped build the weapons we use to defend ourselves against Grimm. He never abandoned us when most humans would."

"Then why?!" Jurabi shouted in anger as tears began to fall down his eyes, "Why him?! Why was he taken away right before my eyes?! Why put me through the guilt of not being able to save him?! Who would betray my father if it wasn't you?!"

"…I…I don't know," Rachel said, "Your father never had many enemies who would want to take his life. It's more likely Project Therion itself was what painted a target on your father, but beyond that, even I can't say."

"If you weren't the one who betray my father, that means I was completely wrong about everything," Jurabi said, "I had no reason to hate faunus kind, but I decided to blame them for everything because it was easy. That's also why…I ignored the rumors when I could have done something about them, but now that I've carried this hatred for nothing I…"

"There's no need to beat yourself up over it anymore," Rachel said, "You can still do the right thing now that you have realized your mistake. When we get out of here, I implore you to stop the Twilight Syndicate from taking any more faunus lives."

"I…I don't know if I can," Jurabi said as he stood up from his chair, "I don't know if I'll even have the power to do so."

"Yes you can," Rachel said, holding his hands, "

"Alright, let's do it," Rachel said, "I have no plans on dying here either, but we need to move quickly before your "customers" grow impatient."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

For the next four weeks from late June into mid-July, Jurabi and Rachel worked endless hours on the armor for their escape all the while fake building the Zenith missiles to not draw any suspicion to them. Although Jurabi prefers to at least color the armor, he feared they might not have the time to do so and instead went with a plain, gray color.

However, just as Rachel predicted, the Twilight Syndicate were not happy with how long Jurabi was taking.

"YOU TWO! STOP RIGHT NOW AND STAND UP!" A Twilight Syndicate soldier voice shouted from the metal doors to their room.

Jurabi looked up and turned off his torch blower. As the metal doors opened, he and Rachel both stood up with both of their hands behind their heads. A group of Twilight Syndicate soldiers marched through the metal doors with Hakruma at the center. The room became tense as Hakruma looked at Rachel then at Jurabi.

"…Relax," Hakruma said.

Jurabi was caught off guard by how relaxed Hakruma was being as he and Rachel slowly relaxed their arms but kept their guard up.

"I see you made yourself a new heart piece, Mr. Alisen," Hakruma said, eyeing Jurabi's Dust Reactor, "We won't have to worry about getting you another car battery out here in the middle of nowhere."

"Well, the Archammer can't be built in a single month, so I had to find some way to survive longer than that," Jurabi said.

"And found a way, you did," Hakruma said, "I expected no less from the Alisen Prince. However…we're a bit concerned you've slowed down with building our Zenith Missiles. Now why is that, Mr. Alisen?"

"Y-You see…we—"

"The parts you gave us to make the missiles aren't up to par with the materials Mr. Alisen used," Rachel interrupted Jurabi seeing that he's not the best at coming up with a good lie.

"Not up to par?" Hakruma said, looking at Rachel with a cold glare, "And what does a vermin faunus like you have to say when it comes to the quality of machinery?"

"I-I meant no offense, sir," Rachel said, feeling a chill up her spine.

Hakruma slowly approached her, still bearing the icy glare, "Yet you insulted Jurabi Alisen's purpose right in front of him. You faunus only care about traditional weapons and aura, so naturally you would know nothing about what makes Alisen's legacy what it is today," He said as he gestured two men to grab Rachel by her arms and force her to her knees.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Jurabi asked.

"No need to worry, Mr. Alisen," Hakruma said as he grabbed a bucket full of ice cold water, "Just teaching this filthy faunus a lesson she will never forget. To insult Alisen Industries is to insult all of humanity—a crime that requires a heavy punishment. Besides, I believe she is the reason you're slowing down in making our missiles. We only kidnapped her from her home so she could save you from death, so she is worthless to us now."

"N-no, that's not true," Rachel said, "I'm not slowing him down at all. We're just having trouble with the mat—"

"Trouble with the materials is not something the Alisen Prince is known for," Hakruma interrupted as he grabbed Rachel by her head and slowly began to push her towards the frozen water, "I will ask you this once and only once: Are you really building the Archammer?"

"Yes…we are," Rachel answered.

"Then why isn't it finished?" Hakruma asked.

"We just need more time," Rachel replied.

"We've given you more than enough time!" Hakruma shouted.

"What do you want? A release date?" Jurabi asked as he tried to approach them, but was held back by Twilight Syndicate soldiers.

Hakruma stopped what he was doing and looked at Jurabi.

"…I need her," Jurabi said, "She's a good assistant who hasn't slowed me down at all. I'm the one who slowed down because…I wasn't…in the groove…"

Silence filled the room after Jurabi gave his reasoning.

Hakruma let out a silent chuckle before letting go of Rachel, "In that case…" He said as he sent Jurabi a glare, "You have until tomorrow to assemble the rail gun, or we'll toss her into the freezing lakes."

After the Twilight Syndicate all left the room, Jurabi brought Rachel back to her feet.

"You okay?" Jurabi asked.

"Y-yes, thank you, Mr. Alisen," Rachel said, "But…why did you stand up for me?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Jurabi said, "I'm surprised they didn't shoot you on the spot, but I'm even more shocked you spoke out knowing that risk."

"I was just doing what I thought was right," Rachel said, "Even if you hate my race, that doesn't mean I should ignore someone when they need my help."

"…If you help someone, you help everyone," Jurabi said.

"That saying…" Rachel said, recalling the person who always spoke those words.

"I remember my father speaking those words to me even as a kid," Jurabi said, "I didn't think much of it at the time, but after remembering how much he wanted to help people now, I finally understand what he means. Makes me wonder what I should do…if I even can do anything…"

"I know you can, Mr. Alisen," Rachel said with a smile, "You may be pushing that feeling away, but I know it's there—the need to help the people suffering before you, just like your father."

"Yeah…I am my father's son, after all," Jurabi said, "If so, let's see this through to the end."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~1 Day Later~~_

Jurabi stayed up all night finishing up the last two pieces that will go with his armor.

One was a fearsome, full-face mask with four eye slits resembling the face of a Grimm.

The other was a sheath with a rotary chamber filled with different types of Dust blades. The blades, when connected with the accompanying handle, are reminiscent of the long-bladed, single-edged great sword.

Once the two items were finished, Jurabi presented them to Rachel who was fake prepping the Archammer.

"We're ready," Jurabi said, "Help me out."

As Rachel placed the chest plate of the armor into the proper angle, Jurabi wrapped bandages around his hands. Once both actions were finished, Rachel helped Jurabi put on a light coat, a pair of armored gloves, and a neck protector.

Then, Jurabi sat down underneath the chest plate and let it descend onto his body with no trouble in fitting his head through the neck hole. He made sure the armor was connected to his Dust Reactor.

"You okay?" Rachel asked.

"A little tight around the neck, but we'll make do," Jurabi replied.

"Can you move your hand at least?" Rachel asked.

Jurabi clenched both of his fists and slightly moved his arms, "Definitely."

"Perfect, now say the steps to the exit one more time," Rachel said.

"Forty small steps straight ahead from the door, sixteen steps left, fork right, thirty-three steps straight and then turn right," Jurabi replied as Rachel began prepping the computer to activate the armor, "That should be it."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

Meanwhile, Hakruma had returned to the observation room to check the room Jurabi and Rachel were held in, but he only sees a small glimpse of Rachel's left side.

"Where's Alisen?" Hakruma asked.

A Twilight Syndicate soldier took a close look at the footage, "We haven't seen him for the past twenty minutes."

"Go check on them," Hakruma ordered as two Twilight Syndicate soldiers went to check on Jurabi and Rachel.

The two Twilight Syndicate soldiers arrived at the door to Jurabi and Rachel's workplace. One of them moved the small window on the door.

"Vongarus! Stop right now!" He shouted.

"Oh no…" Rachel whispered.

"Hurry up and say something," Jurabi whispered to her.

"Where is Alisen?!" The Twilight Syndicate soldier shouted, "We haven't seen him for the past twenty minutes!"

"M-Mr. Alisen?" Rachel asked, "He's not feeling too well! I think he ate something really bad in his breakfast! You guys should go get help right now!"

"You should have asked for help sooner!" The Twilight Syndicate soldier shouted, "We're coming in right now!"

"Uh! I don't think that's a good idea!" Rachel shouted.

The Twilight Syndicate soldier that spoke with Rachel looked at the other one at his side and gestured him to unlock the door.

The other soldier unlocked the door and opened it, however…

 _ ***BOOM***_

An explosion occurred at the door killing the two soldiers and knocking the door off of its hinges.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

Back in the observation room, Hakruma witnessed the explosion through the video footage before it cut out, "Get the men, now!" He shouted, "They're trying to escape!"

Three Twilight Syndicate soldiers immediately rushed through the tunnels with their guns in hand as Hakruma began yelling though his walkie talkie to sound the alarm.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

After the smoke had dissipated, Rachel looked back at the door to find two dead Twilight Syndicate soldiers and the metal door knocked down.

"Holy…" Rachel said.

"Did it work?" Jurabi asked.

"A little too well, I would say," Rachel said, continuing to finish setting up Jurabi's armor.

"We don't have enough time left so finish up the power sequence," Jurabi said.

"Okay," Rachel said turning to the computer and began typing, "Tell me the codes."

"Function eleven," Jurabi said, watching Rachel type in response, "Tell me when you see a progress bar. It should be up now, talk to me, Rachel."

"Y-yes, I have it!" Rachel shouted.

"Okay, now Control I and Enter," Jurabi said.

"Control I…" Rachel repeated as she typed, "Enter!"

"Good, now come over here and button me up," Jurabi said.

But they began to hear the sounds of soldiers shouting from the tunnels.

"Don't worry, just finish up as fast as you can," Jurabi said.

"But they're coming!" Rachel shouted.

"I don't want it pretty. Just keep calm and get it done," Jurabi said.

"They're coming…I don't work well under pressure," Rachel said.

"You're doing fine, just keep going," Jurabi said as Rachel finished buttoning up Jurabi, "There, now what's the sequence progress so far? Can you check for me?"

"Okay," Rachel said looking at the power up sequence progress bar only to see that it's halfway finished, "It's halfway done…"

"Okay, now make sure to wait for my signal once I clear out the area before you follow me out, alright?" Jurabi asked.

"No…we need more time…" Rachel said.

"What?" Jurabi asked.

Rachel turned to Jurabi, "Hey, I'm going to go buy you some time."

"What? No! Stick to the plan!" Jurabi shouted.

Rachel rushed to the metal door and grabbed one of the dead Twilight Syndicate soldiers' gun and began firing it off in an attempt to scare the Twilight Syndicate soldiers away

"I SAID STICK TO THE PLAN!" Jurabi shouted, "RACHEL!"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

Rachel ran through the tunnels shooting the rifle she took. She successfully drove the Twilight Syndicate soldiers back in fear. However, she stopped in her tracks when she reached the tunnel exit. There, she was met by fifteen guns carried by Twilight Syndicate soldiers being aimed at her.

Several gunshots followed afterwards.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

Jurabi was ready. He forced his body and armor up from the chair. His body felt surprisingly light even with the heavy armor on. He put his Grimm mask on and hid in the darkness.

Four Twilight Syndicate soldiers entered the room to search for Jurabi.

"You see Alisen anywhere?" A Twilight Syndicate soldier asked.

"I don't see anything aside from that weird light over there," Another soldier said as he walked closer to the strange light.

"Be careful now," Another soldier warned.

The soldier approached the strange light and tapped on it to see if it posed a threat. When nothing happened, he turned around and shrugged, "Nothing he—"

A sword was thrust through his body, killing him instantly.

"WHOOOOOOAA!" The other two Twilight Syndicate soldiers screamed as they began shooting bullets despite the darkness. The gunshots continued for a long time until they ran out of bullets.

Silence soon followed afterwards.

"Did we get whatever's in there?" One of them asked.

"I-I think so," Another responded.

However, a pair of red eyes appeared in the darkness. A creature rushed passed two Twilight Syndicate soldiers at inhuman speed.

The next thing they knew, their throats were slit opened and they were dead on the ground.

The last Twilight Syndicate soldier screamed as the creature grabbed him by the mouth and pierced his chest with it's blade.

"…So…" The creature said as it dropped the dead soldier to the ground, "This is the power of a Grimm."

The creature turned out to be Jurabi with his Grimm mask on and his sword in his hand. Not only that, but a pair of Grimm-like wings were behind his back and a sword like tail appeared from underneath his armor.

"Geez, I didn't think I'd have a pair of wings or a tail though," Jurabi said, "This will be a really uncomfortable escape. But that doesn't matter. I gotta find Rachel. Please be okay…"

"IT'S A GRIMM!" A Twilight Syndicate soldier shouted as a group of them opened fire on Jurabi.

But none of the bullets were hurting Jurabi at all as the Grimm simply walked through like nothing was happening.

"This feeling…" Jurabi said, still feeling the lightness of his body, "Just what kind of Grimm am I?" He asked as he easily slashed through the many Twilight Syndicate soldiers, "Whatever the case, I could get used to this."

As Jurabi progressed further through the tunnels following the retreating Twilight Syndicate soldiers, he happened upon the first barricaded door. However, one lone Twilight Syndicate soldier was left behind begging to be let through.

Screams of the soldier could be heard from the side of the soldiers with their guns ready for whatever goes through.

"Will this hold it?" A soldier asked.

"That's a steel door," Another replied, "Even a Grimm would have trouble busting through it."

However, Jurabi started banging on the door with surprisingly strong force that began weakening the door.

"N-No way!" A soldier shouted in fear.

"What IS this Grimm?!" Another soldier shouted.

Jurabi put his all into the last punch onto the steel door, causing it to go flying into the Twilight Syndicate soldiers all the way into a wall killing them.

As Jurabi closed in on the tunnel exit, Hakruma grabbed a special rocket gun and waited for the Grimm to come around the corner.

Jurabi made it to the tunnel exit. The first thing he saw was Rachel lying up against the wall heavily wounded with bullet holes all throughout her body.

"Rachel!" Jurabi shouted.

"W-watch out…!" Rachel shouted.

The next thing Jurabi knew was Hakruma firing a rocket at him. With inhumanly fast reaction timing, Jurabi sliced the rocket in half, negating the explosion upon his body.

Hakruma was in complete shock by the abnormal speed of this Grimm, who he heard Rachel name Jurabi, "A human who can control the powers of a Grimm…" He whispered as he examined the wings on Jurabi's back and the sword-like tail that followed, "Those wings…that tail…you're…!"

Jurabi didn't allow him to finish as he rushed towards Hakruma and tried to land a killing slash attack.

Hakruma reacted by stepping back, but his right arm ended up being cut off by Jurabi's attack and his rocket gun went off and exploded onto the ceiling causing the ice rocks to bury Hakruma alive.

Jurabi immediately went over to Rachel and took off his Grimm mask, "Rachel! I'm here now!"

"M-Mr…Alisen…" Rachel whispered.

"Come on, get up," Jurabi said, "We've got to move now before more of them come."

"…I…I'm sorry…" Rachel whispered, "My legs are all shot up…and I've lost too much blood…"

"I'm going to get you out of here, okay?" Jurabi said, "Just hold on and let me clear this place out."

"You and I…both know that's not going to work out…Mr. Alisen," Rachel said, "You only have ten minutes…so use them to get out of here…"

"Not without you!" Jurabi shouted, "We made a plan and we have to stick to it no matter what!"

"This…was always part of the plan, Mr. Alisen…" Rachel said.

"Don't speak like that! Didn't you want to see your family again?!" Jurabi asked, "Your son is waiting for his mother to come home, so get up already!"

"…I know…" Rachel said, "He and my husband…are both waiting for me…in the afterlife…"

"…What…?" Jurabi asked.

"It's okay…Mr. Alisen…" Rachel said with a smile, "I wanted this. I knew the risks that came with this plan…but they didn't matter…as long as I could save you…"

"…And save me you did," Jurabi said placing Rachel's hand on her chest, "Thank you, Rachel."

"Don't waste this chance…" Rachel said, "…a chance…to set things right…for everyone…"

"I won't," Jurabi said, "I promise you, I will end the Twilight Syndicate and Silver Dragons, and one day, humans and faunus will be able to live happily together."

"Your father…would be proud…Jurabi…As…am…I…" Rachel breathed her final words before she closed her eyes, dying with a smile.

Jurabi stood there in complete silence, his expressions unable to change. He took Rachel's other free hand and placed it on top of the hand already on her chest, replicating how a body looks in a funeral.

The boy stood up and faced the tunnel exit, where more Twilight Syndicate soldiers wait for him to appear. He moved forward with determination burning brightly in his heart.

Jurabi walked outside the tunnel with his mask happening to shield his eyes from the bright light. His path was surrounded by several Twilight Syndicate soldiers all with their weapons pointed at them.

"Open fire!" A soldier shouted.

All of the Twilight Syndicate soldiers fired their weapons onto Jurabi from regular assault rifles to rocket launchers all until they ran out of ammo.

Jurabi stepped out of the dust cloud that formed from the attacks as if nothing happened.

This sight caused the Twilight Syndicate soldiers to step back from the Grimm in fear.

"YOU FINISHED?!" Jurabi asked, his face filled with rage that not even a human would be able to control, "CAUSE THAT WAS THE LAST TIME YOU TWILIGHT SYNDICATE BASTARDS GET TO USE MY WEAPONS FOR EVIL AGAIN! NOW BURN!" He breathed in a large, deep breath. When he exhaled, a huge stream of black fire shot out from his mouth setting the entire Twilight Syndicate camp on fire.

The fire set off a chain reaction of explosions due to connecting with several oil barrels, flammable weapons and gunpowder. Every Twilight Syndicate soldier who came into contact with the black fire were burnt alive. Some tried to douse the flame in the freezing lake, but not even the subzero temperature could rid their body of the black flames. As a result, the Twilight Syndicates soldiers are given the choice to either die of burning or die of frostbite.

As the explosions began to reach Jurabi, the Grimm spread his wings out and flew as high as he could into the air making his escape. However, his fifteen minutes had run out and his Grimm features vanished from his body mid flight.

"No!" Jurabi shouted as he started descending straight into the snow, "AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

 ***CRASH***

Jurabi's body landed face first into the snow. Although the snow cushioned the impact of the fall, it still hurt a lot.

"Ugh…" Jurabi groaned as he slowly picked himself back up, "Didn't think fifteen minutes would be that short."

His armor was busted up due to the fall and near useless. The Grimm Mask cracked into two pieces, but the sword Jurabi built remained intact.

Jurabi discarded everything aside from the weapon and began walking through the snowy wastelands. For some reason, he did not feel any more cold than he was inside the cave. Most would die due to frostbite, but Jurabi was still able to keep going.

It wasn't until two hours of walking later that Jurabi happened upon the sight of smoke from the distance. Assuming there is a village, Jurabi sprinted as fast as he could in hopes of finding shelter and help.

However, it turns out the smoke was from a ruined village filled with nothing but decayed debris and broken buildings.

"What the…?" Jurabi asked as he entered the village, "What happened here?"

As Jurabi looked around at the abandoned, forgotten town, he noticed a lot of guns lying around. When he picked up one of the rifles, the first thing he noticed was the Alisen Industries brand on it. Once he saw the brand, Jurabi dropped the rifle and stumbled backwards in horror.

While stumbling back, he felt his foot hit a soft surface in the snow. He stopped and looked down to see a half-torn stuffed koala bear toy.

"…Is that?" Jurabi asked as he picked up the toy, seeing that it was a grey colored koala. It's left arm, right leg, and both ears were torn off along with the majority of its left shoulder, "Oh no…" Jurabi whispered as he started running, desperately hoping this place isn't what he thinks it is, "No, no, no, no…"

Jurabi happened upon a snow covered sign. After he wiped off the snow, Jurabi completely froze in place as he dropped to his knees, "Hellavese…Rachel's home…" Tears began to run from his eyes onto his cheeks. "Rachel…I…" He whispered before he broke out into sobs.

" _ **I'LL NEVER FORGIVE THOSE FAUNUS!"**_

Those were the words he said long ago as a child. He couldn't deny it. He didn't want to deny the truth in front of him. The truth that this was his doing, whether he realized it or not.

"I'M SO SORRY!" Jurabi screamed, "I'M SO…SO SORRY!"

Due to intense shock and guilt on top of using his Grimm powers for the first time, Jurabi eventually passed out in the snow.

 _~~One Hour Later~~_

It wasn't long before a ship landed near Jurabi's unconscious body.

The person who stepped out was Aoife along with a squad of Vastel hunters.

"General Chanadani! It's Jurabi Alisen!" A soldier shouted as the group rushed to Jurabi.

"How is he?" Aoife asked.

"His vitals are stable, but it seems that he collapsed due to stress," The medic hunter replied as he checked over Jurabi.

"Alright, get him on the ship," Aoife said, "We're bringing him to Vunla immediately."

"But ma'am, what about the massive Grimm signature we detected here?" A soldier asked.

"I've checked the radar several times," Aoife said, "The Grimm signature has long disappeared. Right now, Mr. Alisen's safety is our main priority."

"You heard the general," A soldier said carrying Jurabi onto the ship.

"…" Aoife glanced at Jurabi, who was still holding onto the torn koala toy, "…Strange…" She trailed off before she hopped back onto the ship on its way to Argyros City.

 **Jurabi: Heeeeeeeellooooooo~! This is Jurabi Therion, back with this slightly revamped chapter. Yes, there wasn't much to change aside from a few scenes to connect each other.**

 **I did end up cutting the part storyline with Dana off, but you will find out more about what happened to her in later chapters. The story from here on will likely require little changes, so I might be able to get to writing a new and fresh chapter sooner than expected.**

 _ **Anyways, guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please let me know in the reviews and leave a favorite and a follow and also join me on my own discord server to have a nice chat. Thank you very much for reading. See you next chapter~!**_

 _ **Discord: (h) (t) (t) (p) (s) : / / discord . gg / yds39Vc**_


	7. Therion Arc Chp 7: Zenith Grimm (Part 2)

**Therion Arc Chp 7: Zenith Grimm (Part 2)**

 _~~En Route to Argyros City~~_

"We're almost at Argyros City, General Chanadani," A voice spoke.

"Good, call for an ambulance and for a reserved room for Mr. Alisen," Spoke voice familiar to Jurabi.

"Yes ma'am," The other voice responded.

"…Miss…Chandani…?" Jurabi asked, slowly waking up to find a warm blanket wrapped around him.

Aoife turned around and moved to Jurabi's side, "Don't move, Jurabi. We're almost home. You gave us quite a scare for the past June through July. Everyone was searching high and low in Vulna for you."

"…I'm sorry," Jurabi said.

"Don't be," Aoife said, "Your sister was worried sick for you all this time."

Jurabi felt his face change to a guilty expression when he heard his sister mentioned.

Aoife caught this and asked, "What's the matter?"

"How will I be able to face anyone after all I've done?" Jurabi asked, covering his eyes which were starting to form tears, "What happened to Hellavese…is all my fault."

Aoife was in shock. She had never seen Jurabi this torn up since his father's death. It was always assumed that Jurabi had grown past crying and became emotionally strong, but seeing the boy like this hurt Aoife a lot.

"Tell me what happened, Jurabi," Aoife said seriously.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Argyros City~~_

The Vastel dropship that carried Jurabi as its passenger arrived at the Argyros City Airport. Elise came to the airport after hearing from Aoife that she found Jurabi. As Jurabi walked out of the ship, they saw that his right arm was in an arm cast and that Aoife was helping him take small steps off the plane.

When Jurabi approached Elise, his gaze turned down to the ground, "Elise… I…"

Elise ran to Jurabi and hugged him as tightly as she could, the sounds of her silent sobbing could be heard by Jurabi.

"Just…not a single word," Elise sobbed, "We were all worried sick for you, but none of us gave up hope—me especially."

"I'm sorry, Elise," Jurabi said, "I didn't mean to put you through all of that."

"It doesn't matter!" Elise shouted, "You're back home and that's all I care about!"

"Yeah," Jurabi said, "I am home."

Aoife turned to her soldiers, "Tell His Majesty that I'll be late for the debriefing. I'm going to look over Jurabi for a bit."

"Yes, ma'am," The soldiers responded.

Aoife then walked over to Jurabi, "Jurabi, I believe we have a lot to discuss. For the next few days, I'll be keeping an eye on you, if that's okay."

"That's fine," Jurabi said, "I need to explain everything to everyone eventually."

"Explain?" Elise asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Well first…I need some food really bad," Jurabi said, rubbing his stomach, "I'm starving."

"Seriously?" Elise asked.

"Yes, I'm serious," Jurabi said, "And I also need you to call a press conference for me."

"A press conference?" Elise asked in shock, "Whatever for?"

"Like I said, I need to explain everything," Jurabi said.

"H-hold on a minute, Jurabi! You need to go to the hospital and recover, first and foremost," Elise said.

"That can wait, but right now I need to get something off my chest as soon as possible," Jurabi said, "But first, I need a fucking bacon burger with no mayo in my stomach, and I'm willing to eat it during the conference if I have to. So, let's go already."

As Jurabi went into his private car, Elise looked at Aoife, "Did something happen to him out there?"

"Better for you to hear it from him instead of me," Aoife said, "And you better get him that burger. Jurabi hates being hungry more than anything."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Argyros City: Alisen Industries~~_

After Elise ordered Jurabi's burger from the nearest fast food restaurant, Jurabi was then driven to Alisen Industries where Gerald and the workers were gathered. Everyone happily gave a round of applause for the return of Jurabi as Gerald went over and opened the door to Jurabi's car.

"Haha! Look at this!" Gerald shouted excitedly as he helps Jurabi exit the car and gave him a hug, "Ah, it's so good to see you safe and sound, Jurabi."

"It's good to see you again too, Gerald," Jurabi said.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the hospital?" Gerald asked.

"Yeah, well there's been a slight change in plans," Jurabi said, "I want every personnel to attend this conference and hear what I have to say."

"Well sure, but what's going on?" Gerald asked.

Before Jurabi could answer, Elise walked up to him with a bag in her hand, "Here's your burger, Jurabi."

Jurabi turned around and grabbed the burger from inside the bag, "No mayo, right?"

"Nope," Elise replied.

"Good," Jurabi said as he began wolfing down the burger as he was led into the building.

"Wait, you got yourself a burger?" Gerald asked, "Did you get me one?"

"Oh yeah, sorry. I forgot," Jurabi said, "Maybe next time."

Jurabi, Gerald, Elise, and Aoife walked into the presentation area where the conference is to be held where a large group of news people were gathered. The second they saw Jurabi, they began taking photographs and calling out Jurabi's name.

Aoife stood behind the crowd as she watched Jurabi make his way to the stand.

"Hey, Aoife," A familiar voice called.

Aoife turned to her right to see a familiar blond-haired man wearing a black suit, "Nebula? You're here too?"

"Yes, I'm under orders to assess the situation with Mr. Alisen," Nebula said.

"From Vastel Academy?" Aoife asked.

"No, from the Hunter Council," Nebula said, "It's a secret investigation."

"Well not anymore since you just told me," Aoife said.

"Not to worry, as long as Mr. Alisen doesn't know," Nebula said.

"What is it the Hunter Council want to know, though?" Aoife asked.

"I'm sure you've been wondering the same thing the council and I have been wondering: The circumstances surrounding Jurabi Alisen's escape from the Twilight Syndicate," Nebula said.

"Yes, I have," Aoife said, "As well as the mysterious Grimm signature we detected but lost the moment we found Mr. Alisen. I'll be keeping an eye on him for a while and will keep you updated if I find something new."

"Of course," Nebula said, "Thank you, Aoife."

"…So about that date—"

"No," Nebula said.

"Alright, let's get started," Gerald said at the microphone on his stand, "Now as you may know, I…" He stopped when he noticed that Jurabi was sitting on the floor in front of the stand, "Jurabi, what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, but is it alright will all of you if you could sit down so I can see all of you?" Jurabi asked, "I'm not really in the mood for formalities at the moment."

At Jurabi's request, everyone in the conference room sat down although most found his request odd and out of nowhere.

" _Jurabi?"_ Elise thought to herself, _"He's been acting weird ever since he got back. I wonder what's with him?"_

"It's good to see you all here," Jurabi said, "The faunus people especially. Could you faunus please raise your hands so I know you all came here despite the stories you've heard?" He saw several faunus news reporters raise their hands in the crowd, "Wow, that's a lot more than I expected. Now…I'm certain that you all are wondering why I've called this press conference. There's something that I need to get off my chest not to just you, but to all of Vastel."

All of the news reporters looked at Jurabi with confused expressions.

"I never got to say goodbye to my mother," Jurabi said, "I wasn't even allowed to attend my dad's funeral and part of me has given up hope that my mom would come home. If they were here today, there would be so many questions I would ask them. One question in particular would be what they felt about what Alisen Industries is doing—about what I have been doing. I would ask them if they were conflicted or had doubts. There's no doubt in my mind….that my parents would be disgusted of the company…and disappointed in me."

 _"Disappointed?"_ Gerald thought to himself.

"Um…Mr. Alisen?" A faunus newsman asked, raising his hand.

"Yes?" Jurabi asked.

"What happened out there?" The faunus newsman asked.

"What happened?" Jurabi asked before he took a deep breath before continuing, "Out there in Staneia, I saw faunus's from fathers to mothers to even children, killed by the very weapons I built to defend and protect them, and I saw that I…had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability," He then took out the half-torn koala stuffed toy, "See this? This toy once belonged to a faunus boy named Mavin, a wonderful kid from what I was told. His father was Julias, a man who would have fit in this company and this kingdom because he loved technology. The mother…was once a doctor who worked for my father, Rachel Vongarus. You asked me what happened out there. The father and the son were killed and I nearly died until Mrs. Vongarus saved my life knowing that it was because of me she lost her family. She sacrificed her life to give me hope to escape and I promised her that it would not be wasted. I've come to realize one thing," He said as he stood up and walked behind the podium, "I have more to offer Vastel than weapons that blow stuff up, and that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapon's manufacturing division of Alisen Industries!"

The whole crowd of news reporters erupted in shock and tried to ask Jurabi many questions.

"What?!" Elise asked, surprised by Jurabi's declaration.

"Alisen Industries will no longer build or ship weapons until I can decide what the future of this company can be—the direction it should take that I and all of faunus kind can agree upon without any more loss of innocent lives and is consistent with the higher good of all of Vastel! Thank you all very much for coming!" Jurabi said as Gerald forced him away from the podium.

"Okay, um…what we should all really be taking from this is…Jurabi's back!" Gerald said, trying to make something positive out of the press conference, "And he is healthier than ever. He and I will have a discussion about his statement and we'll get back to you on the following. Thank you all for coming out on such short notice!"

"Shutting down the manufacturing of weapons?!" Nebula asked as he turned to Aoife, "But won't the High Council take issue with that?"

"Yeah," Aoife said, "Alisen Industries is the reason why hunters have their advanced weapons to fight the Grimm. I'm certain Jurabi knows this."

"Then why shut it all down, then?" Nebula asked, "His reasoning with the endangerment of faunus lives isn't a good enough reason alone."

"That is a good question," Aoife said.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

After the press conference, Gerald went to the dust manufacturing area of the building with an annoyed look on his face. He entered the area to find Jurabi looking at a container filled with canisters of dust.

"Well!" Gerald shouted sarcastically, getting Jurabi's attention, "That went absolutely perfect!"

"Did I just paint a target on my head?" Jurabi asked.

"Your head? What about mine?" Gerald asked, "So what do you think the numbers will be when the stock drops tomorrow?"

"Optimistically, 40 points," Jurabi replied.

"At MINIMUM," Gerald added.

"Well, nothing we can't recover from," Jurabi said.

"Jurabi, Alisen Industries is a weapons manufacturing company," Gerald explained.

"Even so, I don't want a body count over the thousands to be our legacy," Jurabi said, "That's all."

"Wherever weapons go, a body or two is sure to follow," Gerald said, "You can't suddenly feel guilty just because by chance some faunus's were killed by weapons with our company's logo on it."

"We're supposed to be making weapons to protect the people, not to harm them," Jurabi said.

"And we're doing just that, Jurabi," Gerald said, "But you can't go and choke the flow of these weapons and leave the defenseless people with nothing. That's ridiculous! What we're doing is supposed to prevent Vastel from plunging into chaos!"

"That's not what I saw in Staneia," Jurabi said, "We're not doing a good enough job. We're too comfortable producing the same solutions to conflict over and over again. We need to do something different."

"Okay, what are we supposed to do then?" Gerald asked, "Kindly ask the Grimm to leave us alone? Get the Eclipse and Twilight Syndicate leaders into a playroom and get them to be best buddies with the world?"

"…I think we should take another look into Dust Synthesis technology," Jurabi suggested.

"Oh, come on," Gerald said, rolling his eyes, "Dust Synthesis?! That's a publicity stunt! Your father invented that concept to shut the hippy faunus's up!"

"Yeah, but it actually works," Jurabi said.

"It does but only on a base level," Gerald said, "We can only combine two dust types at a time and that's it. Dust Synthesis was never a cost-effective project. Your father knew that before he introduced it. It's a dead end, Jurabi. We hadn't had a breakthrough for thirty years."

"Are you sure about that?" Jurabi asked. He saw that Gerald's face didn't change at all when he should be wondering why he asked that, "Could you have a lousier poker face. Who told you?"

"Never mind who told me. Show me," Gerald said.

"It was Miss Chandani, isn't it?" Jurabi asked.

"I want to see it, Jurabi," Gerald said.

"Okay, Miss Chandani it is," Jurabi said as he unbuttoned his suit to show Gerald his Dust Reactor.

Gerald's eyes widened before he looked around and rebuttoned Jurabi's suit with a gleeful smile, "Well, well…you always come up with the biggest surprises."

"Yeah, it works," Jurabi said, "And I think if we dig deeper, we could find a perfect way to eliminate the Grimm without sacrificing innocent lives."

Gerald nodded and placed a hand on Jurabi's shoulder, "Jurabi, we're a team, you and I. For that reason, we need to stick together and work in unison, just like your father and I."

"I'm sorry I didn't give you a heads-up," Jurabi said, "But if I had, you would have—"

"Jurabi, it's fine," Gerald said, "I mean, we're in deep hot waters because of this, but like you said: "Nothing we can't recover from". Understand that you have to let me handle some of this. We'll need to play a whole different kind of ball game now. First, we'll need to endure all the heat we get from all directions. In the meantime, I want you to lay low for a little while until everything settles down."

"I will," Jurabi said as he and Gerald began to leave the dust manufacturing room, "Thanks, Gerald."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~New Alisen Residence~~_

 _~~Two Days Later~~_

"Still no clues…" Elise muttered to herself as she looked over her notes of Grimm autonomy and body structure in her room.

Ever since the night of her father's death and her mother's disappearance, Elise has strived to study the Grimm both old and new to understand their weaknesses and behavior. These people are known as Grimm Scientists; although, Elise is only at her beginning stage of learning in the field.

The subject she was studying in particular was the Zenith Grimm: Ragnarok, which has not been sighted in more than ten years. With no clues or trails to track the beast, people believed it to be dead at last; however, the hunters of Vastel do not want to take risks with a Zenith Grimm and hope to find evidence of its death.

"Based on what Mr. Volas told me, all he found were the bodies of the terrorists that Mom went after…" Elise muttered to herself, "All that was left was a blood trail. Mom…what happened out there?"

That was when she heard her phone ring. Elise took it out and saw that the caller was Jurabi, so she picked up the call, "Hello?"

" _Hey, Elise, I have a question,"_ Jurabi said, _"How small are your hands?"_

"Um…what?" Elise asked.

" _How small are your hands?"_ Jurabi asked again.

"I…don't understand why you would—"

" _Get over here. I need you,"_ Jurabi said before he hung up.

 _~~Jurabi's Workshop~~_

Elise left the living room residence and walked down stairs Jurabi's workshop. Upon entering, she saw Jurabi resting on an operation table with his Dust Reactor core half-pulled out. In his hand was another Dust Reactor core that looked more brand new than the one in his chest.

"Hey, Elise," Jurabi greeted.

"What in the—?"

"So how small are they?" Jurabi asked, "Can I see them?"

In response, Elise raised her hands to let Jurabi see them.

"Oh wow, very small and petite," Jurabi said, "Okay, so I need your help here for a second. Sorry if I took you from your free time."

"Oh my goodness…" Elise said, staring straight at Jurabi's Dust Reactor, "Is that what's keeping you alive?"

"Yes, it was, but it's a rather run-of-the-mill version," Jurabi said, showing her the new Dust Reactor, "This will keep me alive for the remainder of my life, hopefully. I've been trying to swap these two Dust Reactors, but I've run into a speed bump."

"A speed bump?" Elise asked.

"Inside this column where this reactor rests, there's a little snag under here: an exposed wire that's contacting the socket wall and is causing a little bit of a blockage," Jurabi said as he began to pull out the old Dust Reactor and yanked out its cords and gave it to Elise.

"W-wait, what should I do with this?" Elise asked.

"That thing is irrelevant, now," Jurabi said, "Put it over there somewhere."

"Okay," Elise said putting it on a nearby desk.

"Now, I want you to reach in here and gently lift the wire out," Jurabi instructed.

"…Is this even safe?" Elise asked.

"Of course, it is," Jurabi said, "It's like a game of Operation. Just don't let the wire touch the socket when you pull it out."

"Operation? What in the world is that?" Elise asked.

"…I-it's nothing," Jurabi said, "Just, don't let the wire touch the socket and we'll be good. Do it gently now, okay?"

"O-Okay," Elise said as she moved her hand towards the metallic hole in Jurabi's chest, but she immediately pulled it back, "You know, I don't think I'm the right person for this."

"No, no, no, you're fine, Big Sis," Jurabi said, "You are the most capable, dependable, and trustworthy person I know. I wouldn't be asking you to do this if that weren't true."

"…"

"But if I'm asking you too much, you can back out," Jurabi said, "I don't want to make you feel forced to do anything."

"Okay, okay, Jurabi," Elise said, "I'll do it."

"Good, cause I really need your help," Jurabi said.

Elise moved her hand into the metallic hole in Jurabi's chest and immediately felt a soft, liquid-like substance inside that had a nasty smell, "Ugh! Is that puss?!"

"No, it's not puss," Jurabi said, "It's the inorganic remains of the dust particles that were used to power to Dust Reactor all turned into a half-liquid, half-solid form. Their elements were used up too so you don't have to worry about any dangers."

"But why does it smell?!" Elise asked.

"Because of my body," Jurabi said with a straight face, "That's the only area I am unable to clean during my showers."

"Okay, I think I feel it," Elise said.

"The copper wire?" Jurabi asked.

"Yes," Elise replied as she started pulling the wire out.

"Okay, now be sure that you don't let it touch the si—"

 ***BEEEEEP***

"IIIIIDES!" Jurabi screamed as he felt a shocking pain within his chest.

"Oh my goodness, I'm sorry!" Elise shouted.

"Okay…just…don't let that happen again please," Jurabi said as Elise continued pulling until they could both see the copper wire in Elise's hands, "Alright, now when you pull it out, be careful not to pull out the magnet at the—"

Elise yanked out a small, circular magnet.

Jurabi felt excruciating pain as his life monitor was beeping rapidly, "—end of it! Oh god! Oh fuck!"

"Wh-what is it!? What did I just do?!" Elise asked.

"You yanked out the piece of the old Dust Reactor that fell off and was stuck there!" Jurabi shouted.

"Should I put it back in?!" Elise asked.

"No, no, don't!" Jurabi shouted, "Just put it down somewhere!"

Elise quickly put down the wire and the magnet on the desk before turning back to Jurabi, who was breathing heavily, "Are you okay?!"

Jurabi breathed in deeply, "Do I look okay?! I'm on the verge of a cardiac arrest!"

"Wait, I thought you said this was safe!" Elise shouted.

"I wasn't expecting you to mess up this badly, though!" Jurabi shouted, "You've got to hurry and place this new one in!" He shouted as he gave Elise the new Dust Reactor core.

"Okay, okay!" Elise said taking the new Dust Reactor, "It's going to be okay, Jurabi. I'm going to make this okay," She then placed the cord beneath the new Dust Reactor into the socket first.

"Okay…attach…the cord…to the base plate…" Jurabi breathed.

"Base plate…" Elise said as she felt that she reached the bottom of the socket and felt a place to attach the cords. When she did that, Jurabi let out a loud scream

"AAAAAGH!" Jurabi yelled as his breathing returned to normal. He breathed a sigh of relief before turning to Elise, "See? That wasn't so bad."

Elise said nothing while she tried to place the Dust Reactor inside the socket.

"I'll handle that, don't worry," Jurabi said as he took the Dust Reactor and locked it into his chest. He then turned to Elise and saw the exhausted look on her face, "You look exhausted."

"YOU THINK?!" Elise screamed, "YOU WOULD HAVE DIED FROM THAT, WOULDN'T YOU?!"

"If you weren't quick enough, I might have," Jurabi said.

"You're always like this, Jurabi!" Elise shouted, "Always wanting to do dangerous stuff without thinking about the consequences!"

"Hey, at least it was fun for you, right Big Sis?" Jurabi asked, "It's not every day that you get to put your hand through someone's body. Ha….ha…ha…I'm laughing, by the way."

"I know, I get it, you idiot!" Elise shouted, "Don't ever ask me to do something that crazy again!"

"But…I don't have anyone else to do crazy stuff with," Jurabi said.

Elise froze in place and said nothing after hearing that. She remembers that Jurabi used to do crazy things with his father back when he was so cheerful.

"Well, thanks for putting up with all of that," Jurabi said as he got off the operation chair.

Elise snapped back to reality and looked over at the old Dust Reactor, "What do you want to do with this?"

"Oh that?" Jurabi asked, "You can destroy it or incinerate it as long as you leave no traces behind."

"You don't want to keep it?" Elise asked.

"Elise, that reactor core is a mere reminder of the pain I went through when I was kidnapped," Jurabi said, "Reopening wounds can kill a man. That's what our mother used to say to me whenever I asked her about her life as a hunter."

"…Is that all?" Elise asked.

"Oh yeah, there's something else I was hoping to ask you," Jurabi said, "You're working on Grimm biology, right?"

"You mean the job of a Grimm Scientist?" Elise asked.

"Yes, I was wondering if you could lend me a copy of the records relating to humans turning into Grimm," Jurabi said.

"Why the sudden interest?" Elise asked.

"…I think it's about time I actually learn about the creatures my company will strive to protect the people from," Jurabi said.

"Okay," Elise said with a nod, "But I can only provide you the unclassified information."

"That is more than enough," Jurabi said, "You're the best, Big Sis."

Elise smiled as she turned to head back to her room where she kept her research notes, "Don't do anything stupid with these, alright? I'd prefer to keep my job."

"…Don't worry," Jurabi whispered to himself, "It's anything _but_ stupid."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Kingdom of Staneia~~_

In the snowy plains of Staneia, the remains of the Twilight Syndicate members that Jurabi was not able to kill were digging around in the deep snow.

One soldier in particular found a small Grimm mask broken in half buried underneath the snow.

"Hakruma, sir! I found something!" The soldier shouted to Hakruma, who was standing near a Twilight Syndicate truck.

Hakruma turned around and saw the Grimm mask in the distance. Half of his right arm was missing due to Jurabi cutting it off and half of his face had scars that were frozen.

"Let's see it!" Hakruma shouted as the soldier ran up to him and gave him the two pieces that made the Grimm mask, "So…the legends were true after all."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Jurabi's Workshop~~_

Jurabi sat down on a desk and read the copy of the notes on Grimm that Elise gave to him. As he read, a number of passages stood out to him, "Alright, time to solve this mystery I've had in my head for ten years. What am I?"

 **Undiscovered Grimm-types: Human**

 _A sighting of a human-like Grimm has never been recorded throughout history aside from legends. Usually, when a human body becomes corrupted by Dark Atoms, the substance that make up the Grimm's bodies, that human is reduced to the Apathy Grimm. The body, soul, and spirit are lost to darkness as what remains are trapped in the real world as a fully-fledged Grimm. Because no human has survived having Dark Atoms in their body, the Human-type Grimm is likely to never exist._

 **The Legend of the Grimm Champion**

 _Throughout Vastel's 700 years, there has only been a single record of a human who did not turn into an Apathy Grimm after being injected with dark atoms. The name of this individual was lost to time, but archeologists named this person: The Grimm Champion. The Grimm Champion was said in stories to possess the power of an Zenith Grimm, but due to this information only existing in fairy tale stories, scientists are hesitant to acknowledge these as facts._

 **Symptoms of a Human Transforming into an Apathy**

 _The following are symptoms that may come before or during the transformation of a human into an Apathy:_

 _Sudden changes in behavior and overall personality causing the individual to perform actions that he/she is not known for._

 _Loss of positive emotions such as happiness, sympathy, love, etc._

 _Inability to act upon positive emotions such as the will to laugh, smile, and hug._

 _Strengthening of negative emotions such as anger, sadness, or fear._

"Interesting," Jurabi said to himself as he placed the papers down. In his mind, he pieced together what was wrong with his body and why he had turned into a Grimm.

When Jurabi touched Project Therion ten years ago, a fraction of Ragnarok's dark atoms entered his body, fundamentally changing it.

On that night he witnessed his father's murder, the pain he felt triggered Ragnarok's dark atoms to change his body even further to the point where Jurabi was nearing his transformation into an Apathy.

However, losing consciousness stopped the process, but not before Jurabi had lost all ability to feel and act upon positive emotions.

His negative emotions, however, had only been strengthened to the point where Jurabi was willing to allow his weapons to be used to hurt faunus for revenge for his father's death.

With all of this in mind, there was still a few questions Jurabi had on his mind.

"Why didn't I turn into an Apathy when I regained consciousness?" Jurabi asked, "What exactly am I now that I'm not an Apathy Grimm? Am I even a Grimm at all?" Jurabi then remembers the wings and tail he had when he escaped from the Twilight Syndicates, "No…" His eyes widened as he remembered the black fire he breathed onto the Twilight Syndicate soldiers that stood in his way, "AM I A ZENITH GRIMM?!"

He immediately closed his mouth and looked around to see if anyone was looking. Thankfully, there was no one there.

"Phew…" Jurabi breathed out a sigh of relief.

"You are correct, Mr. Alisen," A female voice said right next to his ear.

"AH!" Jurabi screamed, jumping back from the voice.

"Hahaha, relax, it's just me, Jurabi," Aoife said with a smile as she stepped out from the shadows.

"M-Miss Chandani?!" Jurabi asked, "Wh-wha?! H-How?!"

"My, so it is true," Aoife said, "I never thought I would see the day that a Zenith Grimm is as surprised as a chicken on a hot Sunday."

Jurabi sighed, "Well, I guess my blurting it out was the big clue, wasn't it?"

"Nope," Aoife said, "I knew something was up when my men and I picked up a strong Grimm signature where we found you."

"When you picked me up?" Jurabi asked, "You mean when you saved me in Staneia?" He asked as Aoife nodded in response, "In that case…what are you going to do, Miss Chandani? Are you going to kill me? I may possibly be a Zenith Grimm, as you can see."

"That depends," Aoife answered, still keeping her smile.

"…On what?" Jurabi asked.

"What do you plan on doing now that you know you are not only a simple Grimm, but a Zenith Grimm—the strongest form Grimm can take?" Aoife asked.

"I…I'm not sure myself…" Jurabi said, "I had originally planned on keeping my promise to Dr. Vongarus. But now that I'm a Zenith Grimm, will I even be able to protect faunus and humanity despite being one of the most hated creatures in all of Vastel?"

"Who can say?" Aoife asked, "Are you going to let that stop you?"

"…No! I'll find a way," Jurabi said, "I don't need these dumb Grimm powers to help people! I refuse to rely on the power of those demons for my own or anyone else's satisfaction! I'm going to come up with a new invention that'll heal the wounds of the faunus and move our world in the right direction."

"…You say that you'll never rely on your Grimm powers…" Aoife said before she gave Jurabi a chilling eye glare while still smiling, "Is that you talking to me…or is that your Grimm side lying to me?"

"…Grimm side?" Jurabi asked.

"Just kidding~!" Aoife said, sticking out her tongue, "You really need to lighten up, Jurabi. Messing with you isn't as fun as it was with your mother."

"Sorry if I don't live up to your expectations, Miss Chandani," Jurabi said.

"I never said anything about expectations," Aoife said as she turned to leave the workshop, "…At least, not until now."

"…"

"I have high hopes for you, Jurabi," Aoife said, "Don't let Dr. Vongarus down." With that, she left the workshop and Jurabi to ponder on her words.

"She has high hopes for me, a Zenith Grimm?" Jurabi asked before he closed his eyes, remembering the sheer power he displayed with his powers. He then went to a large drawing board and drew a picture of the armor he and Rachel built during their imprisonment, "I'm not going to use my Grimm powers, but that doesn't mean I can't use my mind."

Jurabi went to work on the Grimm armor. The first thing he does is construct a detailed blueprint of the new design based on the old one he built. Any files he made relating to this project was put into a private folder on his computer since Jurabi doesn't want this design falling into the wrong hands.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Five Days Later~~_

In the span of five days, Jurabi was already in the process of building the outer skeleton of the armor. Afterwards, he built the chest plate fitted with vertical holes in the backside large enough for Jurabi's Ragnarok wings.

Jurabi wore these two parts on his body as he went to the test floor. He turned on the testing camera and stood on a steel mat, "Okay, this will be the first test of the new armor set. Hopefully I won't give off any Grimm signatures while I'm doing this," Jurabi then stepped in front of a cannon and prepared a shield for himself just in case. "Let's start off nice and easy using ten percent power capacity in three…two….one."

 ***BOOM***

The cannon sent Jurabi flying straight into the wall. The impact left a little crack, but not too much damage to be anything deadly.

"…Ow…." Jurabi moaned.

 _~~Six Days Later~~_

For the past six days, Jurabi ironed out the problems with the defenses of the armor and then proceeded to rebuild a newer version of his weapon. One thing the weapon needed the most was Dust to form more powerful attacks. And so Jurabi saw it fitting to give Dark Dust which would go perfectly with its new name.

"Fallen Angel," Jurabi named.

That was when he heard a knock on the workshop door.

"Come in," Jurabi said.

The person who came in was none other than Elise, who was carrying a cup of coffee on top of a covered box.

"Are you doing alright, Jurabi?" Elise asked.

"Yeah, I'm totally fine," Jurabi said, "Why'd you ask?"

"Well your own loving sister has been worried sick about you," Elise said, placing the box down on a nearby table, "She hasn't seen you in nearly two weeks."

"Two weeks, Elise?" Jurabi asked, "I didn't even notice the time fly by."

"Geez, it wouldn't hurt to get some sunshine from time to time," Elise said, "I can't check up on you as much as I would like due to my own busy work."

"Funny, I'm having that same issue too," Jurabi said swinging Fallen Angel around a little.

"Wait, I thought you were done making weapons," Elise said.

"Oh this?" Jurabi asked as he sheathed Fallen Angel, "It's just an antique I decided to fix on my free time. It's not really to be used as a weapon."

"Free time you could have used to visit your sister?" Elise asked.

"Yep," Jurabi said with no hesitation whatsoever, "So is there anything else?"

"Yes, Mr. Achilles has come to visit," Elise said.

"Okay, I'll be right there in just a sec," Jurabi said, still looking at Fallen Angel.

"…And he brought pizza," Elise added.

"I'll be right there right now," Jurabi said already having Fallen Angel put up and zipping past the door leading to the stairs.

"…Heh, still a kid," Elise said, her eyes still trained onto the weapon as she and Jurabi went back to the living room.

As soon as they climbed up the stairs to the living room, they saw Gerald sitting alone at the coffee table with a cup of coffee and a lunch meal.

"Hey, Gerald," Jurabi said.

Gerald was silent as Jurabi approached the couch, "How have you been? Is your journey to calm the public going well?"

Gerald only looked at Jurabi but didn't answer.

"I'll take that as a yes, then?" Jurabi asked as he quickly looked at Elise, who only mouthed "No". He then sat down and saw a lunch meal for him too, "Oh, you paid for me too. Thanks."

"Just because I'm willing to pay for your lunch doesn't mean things are going well," Gerald said.

"I figured," Jurabi said, taking a bite of his lunch.

"It would have gone better if you were there," Gerald said.

"Hold on, now," Jurabi said, "You told me to stay low and that's what I've been doing for the past two weeks. I was supposed to lay low while you take care of the backlash."

"I meant from the public and the press, Jurabi," Gerald said, "This was a meeting with the Hunter Council."

"A-a meeting with the council?" Jurabi asked, "Whatever for?"

"Nothing good, that's what it is," Elise said.

"The council of humanity are claiming a Post-Traumatic Stress," Gerald explained, "They're filing an injunction."

"A what?!" Jurabi asked.

"You've seen the protestors outside our company's building, have you?" Gerald asked, "Almost everyone and their mothers want you to step down from your position as owner of Alisen Industries."

"Why? Because the stocks went down 40 points?" Jurabi asked, "We knew that was going to happen."

"It actually went down 56.5 points," Elise corrected.

"Even still that shouldn't matter because this decision of mine is for the best interest of Alisen Industries," Jurabi explained, "We can bounce back even from this. I know we can."

"Jurabi, our company and its workers have rights too," Gerald said, "The council making the case that you and your new direction isn't in Vastel's best interest."

"I'm being more responsible and am trying to prevent further faunus deaths at the hands of my company's weapons, but that's not in Vastel's best interest?!" Jurabi asked.

" _I_ am saying that you're taking away the people's power to combat the Grimm threat," Gerald said, "It's only a matter of time until the hunters and the military run out of weapons to fight with. Supplying and shipping weapons was the purpose of Alisen Industries. It was the reason why your father never pulled a stunt like this!"

"This isn't a stunt!" Jurabi shouted angrily before he took a deep breath and calmed himself down before continuing, "I'm trying to steer the company in a better direction."

"The more time we spend in this state, the less reason I have to believe you, Jurabi," Gerald stated.

"I know you don't trust me on this, but I am asking you to give me more time!"

"And I'm trying to bring this whole thing back in our favor, but you have to give me something—something to pitch the Hunter Council so they can get off our backs!" Gerald said as he pointed at Jurabi's Dust Reactor, "Here's an idea: We can have our analysts take a look at that reactor core, draw up some specs, and—"

"No, this stays with me," Jurabi said, shaking his head, "Forget it."

"Oh come on, Jurabi. You ask for a way to get you more time, I offer a way to buy you that time, and you say no? Why are you like this?" Gerald said, "We're supposed to be a team."

"And we are, Gerald," Jurabi said, "But for the time being, I'm still going over where Alisen Industries goes next. We can't afford to make any reckless decisions. Just give me one more week and I'll have an amazing idea that will push our company back on track. I need you to trust me."

"…" Gerald looked over at Elise before letting out a sigh, "Alright, Jurabi. If you believe you can put us back on the right track, then I'll believe you. Just make this idea count, because we'll only get one last shot."

"I will," Jurabi said.

"Can I at least see what you've been doing holed up in your warehouse?" Gerald asked.

"Nothing important," Jurabi said, "Just fixing some old antiques and a little house cleaning."

"Can I ask Elise?" Gerald asked, turning to Elise.

"I am just as much in the dark as you are, Mr. Achilles," Elise said.

"Hm…alright, then let me know if you need anything. And one more thing: We're having a little dance party over at Alisen Industries. It'd be great if you could show up to that at least." Gerald said.

"I'll keep that in mind," Jurabi said as Gerald finished his lunch and left the Residence.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Six Days Later: Alisen Workshop~~_

Jurabi had almost finished polishing out the major issues with the new armor's defenses.

"Alright, Day Seventeen! Test Number Thirty of the defensive strength of the new armor," Jurabi said, standing in front of the same cannon that knocked him out of the warehouse days ago. Alright, we'll start off nice and easy with ten percent power capacity once again. Fire in three….two…..one."

 ***BOOM***

Jurabi activated the cannon to shoot a blast towards him. Upon impact, Jurabi's body skidded across the floor, but he was not sent flying and remained on his feet.

"Yes," Jurabi said, as he increased the power capacity, "Let's see how much this baby can take. 15 percent power capacity…"

Jurabi continued on and on with the durability testing and made adjustments to the armor until it was strong enough to tank cannon fire at full power.

For the next few hours, Jurabi fully built the outer skeleton of the armor with silver, steel plating.

In no time, Jurabi was wearing the full armor. It isn't perfect, but it is the first, fully functional human body armor powered by combined dust energy stored up in Jurabi's chest.

"Okay, now to amplify the durability of the armor with the combined dust and Grimm core," Jurabi said as he felt the armor shake from the energy being given off from his dust reactor, "I finally did it. In less than a month too," He said as he began taking off the armor and placed it in a huge container.

"Now…how do I present this to Alisen Industries?" Jurabi asked himself as he noticed the box that Elise left six days ago, "…Was that always there?" He asked as he took a look at the sealed box that said "From Elise", "Oh, that's right. This is from Elise. Can't believe she forgot to remind me."

Jurabi opened up the box and saw the old Dust Reactor core he built in his imprisonment in Staneia, "This thing? I thought I told her to destroy it…huh?" He saw some words laminated around the reactor core that said "Proof that Jurabi Alisen can show love", "…Geez…subtly is not your forte, Elise. Kinda cringy…but thanks, Big Sis. Oh wait…" Jurabi said, looking at the clock, which said 9:00 p.m., "The Dance Party!" He shouted as he bolted off.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Industries~~_

Jurabi arrived at Alisen Industries in his car. After exiting, he allowed the car parkers to park his car for him as he moved to enter the building. On the way, he runs into Gerald, who was in the middle of an interview.

"Hey, Gerald!" Jurabi called Gerald.

Gerald turned to Jurabi with widened eyes, "Well, well! Didn't expect you to remember this party at all, Jurabi!"

"I was in the neighborhood so I figured I'd stop by," Jurabi said, placing a hand over Gerald's shoulder, "What's the world coming to if a guy has to crash his own company's party?"

"Haha, you're not an average, every day guy though," Gerald said, "Crashing companies is your little hobby, after all."

"Yeah…" Jurabi said before he lowered his voice, "Listen, I just finished my latest project. So why don't we go over our scheduling for the presentation at Alisen Industries."

"Ah, I knew you wouldn't let us down, Jurabi," Gerald said, "This isn't a weapon, is it?"

"Definitely not," Jurabi replied, "It's a big surprise that will blow your mind once you see it."

"Well, then I'll look forward to it," Gerald said, "Go on and have a good time at the dance party. Oh! Right! Jurabi, take it slow, okay? I think I've got the council right where we want them."

"Great! I knew you wouldn't let us down, Gerald," Jurabi said as he turned to enter the building.

"Heh, when have I ever?" Gerald asked.

Jurabi entered the building and was met with a huge crowd of guests around the main floor. The floor was so crowded that one can easily get lost, but since Jurabi knew the building like the back of his hand, navigating through was simple.

He made it to the dining table and ordered himself a non-alcoholic drink.

"Well I'll be…" A familiar female voice said, "I never imagine you would come out of that warehouse, Jurabi."

Jurabi turned to Aoife, who talked just now, "Miss Chandani, I'm more surprised you haven't reported me to the council. I'm pretty sure an existence such as mine would send all of Vastel into a panic seizure."

"I would have reported you if I didn't have high expectations of you, Jurabi," Aoife said, "You're building something, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am," Jurabi said, "Not a weapon, but something more…effective for hunters."

"More effective, you say?" Aoife asked.

"With enough time, resources, and dedication, I believe this creation of mine will help hunters fight the Zenith Grimm," Jurabi said, "But that's about as much as I can say."

"Oooh, sounds fun," Aoife said, "Well I'll be looking forward to it."

"Oh, Mr. Alisen," Nebula said as he approached the two.

"And you are?" Jurabi asked the new man.

"My name is Nebula Frelian," Nebula said.

"Nebula, huh?" Jurabi asked, "I'm guessing you're a friend of Miss Chanadani here and are likely watching me on orders from the council."

"If that is what you wish to believe," Nebula said, "Listen, Mr. Alisen, I know this is a trying time for you but certain members of the council have unanswered questions regarding your escape from the Twilight Syndicate and time could be a factor with these things."

"I see…" Jurabi said as he caught sight of Elise, who was wearing a light blue dress.

"How about we set up a schedule for the debriefing at perhaps…next Thursday at three p.m. at Alisen Industries?" Nebula asked.

"Of course," Jurabi said, extending his hand without averting his gaze at the two girls, "I'll go over to my sister over there and we'll talk over the arrangements. Enjoy the dance, you two," He said before he moved over to Elise.

"My, despite everything that's happened, the kid is still going strong," Aoife said.

"Hard to believe that Mr. Alisen can still enjoy these parties after losing his parents," Nebula said, "But we still don't know how he escaped from the Twilight Syndicate, and I'm not sure why he would hide a simple explanation to a simple mistake…unless…" Nebula placed a hand on his chin in deep thought.

"Hehehe…TICKLE ATTACK!" Aoife shouted as she tickled Nebula in the back of his neck.

"Ah!" Nebula felt the tickling sensation, causing him to jump away from Aoife, "I thought I told you not to do that, Chandani."

"And when has that ever stopped me, Nebby?" Aoife asked, extending her hand, "Maybe I'll stop if you treat me to a dance and a smile."

"No," Nebula said, but he then saw Aoife raise her hands with a smug grin, "Gr…Fine, but just one." Nebula submitted and took the hand of a smiling Aoife.

Jurabi made it over to where Elise was and greeted them, "Elise, you look great today."

"Jurabi?" Elise asked, "I didn't expect you would be here."

"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot," Jurabi said, "How's the party?"

"It's uh…well it's great um…" Elise let out a sigh, "To be honest, I'm not digging the fanciness and such, but with you here to make things rowdy, Jurabi, it might become more interesting."

"Well if I can make this party better for you, Elise, I'm more than willing to put forth the effort," Jurabi said, extending his hand to her, "But first, how about a dance?"

"D-Dance?! W-with you?!" Elise asked in shock.

"Yes, is there something wrong with that?" Jurabi asked.

"Well yeah! You're my little brother," Elise said.

"So? We also shared the same bathtub together as kids so what's the big deal?" Jurabi asked.

"That is a completely different thing," Elise whispered, taking Jurabi's hand, "And don't say something like that in public!"

Both of them went to the dance floor and began a slow and steady dance together. Elise let out a nervous sigh.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" Jurabi asked.

"U-um no," Elise said, "Not at all. I just remembered that I…forgot to put on deodorant so I might be sweating bullets really soon."

"So you are uncomfortable?" Jurabi asked, "Or at least nervous."

"I-I—"

"Relax, you look beautiful and you smell beautiful," Jurabi said.

"I smell beautiful?" Elise asked, giggling a little.

"Is that a little too light hearted?" Jurabi asked, "I can say that your breath stinks to even things out."

"Haha, you can say that," Elise said, "I don't mind since you're the same person who still can't figure how to tie his own shoes."

"Says the girl who can't tell a goose from a chicken," Jurabi said.

"This coming from the man who doesn't have his social security number memorized," Elise said.

"That was three years ago; this is now," Jurabi said.

"Then let's hear it then," Elise said.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…."

"….one," Jurabi said.

"Wow, that's one more than you told me three years ago," Elise said, "I'm almost proud of you, Jurabi."

"That's the proudest of me you've ever been," Jurabi said.

There was an awkward silence in between the two of them before Jurabi heard Elise let out a sigh.

"Do you want to get some air?"

"Yes, let's," Elise said as they both went outside at the balcony.

"How was it?" Jurabi asked Elise, "The dance?"

"Pretty great," Elise said, "Though, I have a feeling he received some…looks from the other people."

"Oh come on. What's in the harm of a man dancing with his sister?" Jurabi asked, "It's them who's having weird thoughts of you and me. Bunch of pervs…"

Elise let out a small laugh, "How can you have such a sense of humor without moving your face at all? It's so bizarre."

"Yeah…" A moment of silence followed until Jurabi said, "…So…anything interesting happening in your life?"

"Oh, you finally asked," Elise said.

"…Were you expecting me to?" Jurabi asked, "For how long?"

"…Ever since Mom and Dad died," Elise said, looking at the floor with a sad expression.

"Ah…I see," Jurabi said.

"B-but anyways, last month I've been accepted into Igarus University!" Elise shouted.

"Igarus University?!" Jurabi asked, "That's one of the hardest universities to get into! Wow, I'm so happy for you, Elise…even though I can't show it on my face."

"Hehe, yeah," Elise said as she looked towards the horizon, "I honestly never imagined I would come this far. I used to be such a whiny girl. Complaining whenever things got a little hard and wanting to party with my friends all day. I even had fights with you, my little brother."

"I remember those days," Jurabi said, "That time you smeared peanut butter all over the desktop I was working on."

"Hey, it was payback for when you dipped all of my Gal Dolls into a bucket of tar," Elise said.

"Well that was payback for when you made me trip into a mud puddle and called it an accident, you stuck-up moron!" Jurabi shouted.

"Which was payback for when you brought a dog in our house and let it walk all over my new clothes, you childish prick!"

Both of the siblings glared at each other for a long minute until they both let out a sigh.

"It's strange, ever since you started talking to me again, things never were the same," Elise said.

"Really now?" Jurabi asked, "In that case we can go back to those times, if you'd like."

Elise shook her head before looking up at the stars, "Even if I want to, we can't go back to how things were. It's impossible…because Mom and Dad won't be there to set us straight."

"…Oh…" Jurabi said, feeling his heart sink into sadness at the thought of his parents.

"You remember? All those little squabbles and fights we had and either Mom or Dad would yell at the one responsible and make them apologize to the other," Elise said with a smile, "I've lost count of how many times they had to do that for us. I realized that…if those two weren't always there to set things right between us, I feel that we would have hated each other at this point."

"Are you sure about that, Elise?" Jurabi asked.

"…Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," Elise said, "That depends on how you feel, Jurabi."

"I would never hate you, Elise," Jurabi said, "You're my older sister. With every bad quality, there's still a good quality to everything. Like that time you helped me with my homework and taught me how to paint a girl's nails and do their hair. The boys at school laughed at me, but I was actually happy I learned to do that from you. So no, never would I have any reason to hate you, Elise."

"Jurabi…" Elise whispered.

"In any case, I'm very happy for you," Jurabi said, "I'm sure you'll do amazing in the university. You're studying in Grimm biology, right?"

"Yes," Elise said, "I'd say I'll take around eight years of studying to graduate."

"Then in eight years, I'll be in the audience of the graduation, celebrating and cheering for you," Jurabi said.

"Thanks," Elise said before she frowned, "What about you, Jurabi?"

"What about me?" Jurabi asked.

"What will you be doing…while I'm gone?" Elise asked.

"…Fixing my company's mistakes," Jurabi said.

"Jurabi…" Elise started.

Jurabi looked away from Elise's gaze, "I know what you're about to say, but no. I'm not going to be a hunter."

"It's just…you used to look up to Mom so much and you wanted to help so many people," Elise said, "You still want to do that even now with your inventions. Certainly, you can find time to be a hunter as well, right?"

"It was a mistake to be so infatuated with that kind of dream," Jurabi said.

"A mistake?" Elise asked.

"Elise, I was a kid," Nathan said, "A kid who would soon be parentless and thrust into a world where his own weapons are used to kill innocents."

"But you said that you would never go back on your word," Elise said.

"That 'me' was wrong," Jurabi said, "People change, Elise. There's nothing you, me, or anyone else can do about that but accept it. So no, I won't be hunter even if I was sent an invitation. I'd rather stick to building new tech and fixing stuff."

"You're contempt with that?" Elise asked.

"Of course," Jurabi said, "Why would I want to stop doing what I love to do something I hate?"

"…I'm just worried about you and how you'll move on in life without me," Elise said, "I want to know if you have plans for your future, that's all."

"Part of me wants to be with you, Elise," Jurabi said, "But I know you have your own life outside my own. If I wasn't in the current circumstances, I would have loved to be a hunter, but…"

"But what? What's stopping you?" Elise asked.

"I've done horrible things," Jurabi said, "All of them are unforgivable. Why should I have a right to protect people if I've previously put others in harm's way?"

"We've already talked about this, Jurabi," Elise said, "It was your company's fault, not yours."

"No, you don't understand…" Jurabi said, "I allowed horrors like Hellavese to happened and—"

"Just stop," Elise said, hugging Jurabi, "Stop hurting yourself with this guilt! If you want to make amends, then take action! Don't sit here and drown in your own guilt expecting someone to feel sorry for you! You have me, Miss Chanadani, and so many other people waiting to help you so you're not in this alone!"

"…Even if…" Jurabi muttered to himself, wanting desperately to tell Elise the truth of what he really is, "…You're right. I'm not alone, Elise. I have you, most of all, and so many others."

"That's right," Elise said, "Whatever you plan on doing for the future of your company, I'll be with you all the way."

"Elise…" Jurabi whispered before he nodded, "Thank you. You really are a good sister, you know that."

Elise let out a giggle, "Of course I am, now I would like a drink, little bro, as thanks for helping you out of your funk."

"Aaaaand I take that back," Jurabi muttered as he started walking away, "Alright, one "thank you" drink coming up."

Jurabi went to the drink booth and ordered two drinks. While he waited, a male faunus approached the booth, standing right next to Jurabi.

"I was hoping you would come here, Mr. Alisen," The faunus male said.

Jurabi looked over to the faunus and saw that he had small deer antlers growing on his head.

"Yes?" Jurabi asked, "And you are?"

"I'll give no name except this: I am a member of the Staneia council committee," The Staneia councilman said.

"The Staneia council?" Jurabi asked, "Look, whatever it is you want to ask, I was not invo—"

"Were you about to ask about these pictures?" The Staneia councilman asked as he gave Jurabi pictures, "A town called Renea, just south of the destroyed Hellaves.

Jurabi looked over the photos and saw that they were of Twilight Syndicate members ruining faunus villages in Staneia, all of them possessing weapons with the Alisen Industries logo as well as the Zenith missiles.

"Your words at your last press conference rings true with these photos, Mr. Alisen," The Staneia councilman said, "Your company has been too comfortable in zero accountability at the cost of my people's suffering. The faunus council of the kingdom of Staneia and Narcia are growing impatient with these acts of terrorism by humans. If something isn't done, the faunus government will take matters into their own hands."

"When were these photos taken?" Jurabi asked.

"Yesterday," The councilman replied.

"You have my word, I didn't authorize a single shipment of weapons, Councilman," Jurabi said.

"You didn't, but your company did," The councilman said.

"…Without my knowledge?" Jurabi asked before he realized, "…Gerald…"

Jurabi marched over to where Gerald was outside the Alisen Industries building.

"Thank you all for your time," Gerald said to the guests who were leaving, "Have a safe trip home."

"Gerald! We need to talk," Jurabi said.

"Okay, Jurabi, one sec," Gerald said.

"Don't "one sec" me," Jurabi said, "Now!"

Gerald stopped what he was doing and turned to Jurabi, "Don't tell me someone spoiled your time at the dance."

"These photos," Jurabi said, showing him the photos the faunus councilman showed him, "What the hell has my company been doing behind my back?"

"Jurabi, hold on one moment," Gerald said, "You can't afford to be this naïve."

"Naïve?!" Jurabi asked, "This is _exactly_ what I was talking about at the press conference. Innocent faunus lives are being lost because this company keeps taking shortcuts and allowing terrorists to have our weapons! I was naïve about this before I escaped from the Twilight Syndicates, but I came back and immediately drew the line that no one is to cross—not even me! We can't be doing this, Gerald! Not when we have so many other options that will actually save lives!"

"…Come on, let's take a picture, Jurabi," Gerald said, placing a hand over Jurabi's shoulder, "Hey! Can any of you take a picture of me and Jurabi right here?!" As the cameramen all lined up to take a photo of Gerald and Jurabi, Gerald whispered, "Jurabi, who do you think locked you out? I was the one who proposed the injunction filing to the council."

"You what?" Jurabi asked, "Why?"

"To protect you," Gerald said, "Your time with the Twilight Syndicates has messed up your mind, sadly. I'm only doing what I think is right. It's what your father would have wanted."

"My father wouldn't have wanted this," Jurabi said.

"Ah…then you don't know him as well as you think did," Gerald said, "After all, how many times have you worked alongside him? How long?"

"…"

"That's what I thought," Gerald said, "Just stay low and don't mess with your company's business. I promise that everything will go smoothly even without you. Oh, and you can forget about talking about your project. The council has decided it doesn't want anything from you anymore, so why don't you plan for a long vacation. You're in desperate need of one, Jurabi."

With that, Gerald left Jurabi, pretending that he didn't have the conversation at all.

Jurabi clenched his fists as his arms began to shake.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Workshop~~_

Jurabi immediately went home immediately after his conversation with Gerald. He was furious with everything! Angry at Gerald, angry at his company, and angry at himself.

He watched on the news about the recent attack on a village in Staneia by the Twilight Syndicate. His arms were shaking and his legs were constantly pacing back and forth.

He was silent, but his fist broke the wall next to him. Jurabi then stared at a portrait of his father, Nitorin, "Dad…please tell me…tell me you didn't want this. So many lives lost to weapons of mass destruction…and my company did _nothing_ to help. _I_ …did nothing. But you never wanted things to turn out this way, did you? Didn't you want the world to be a better place for everyone?! Or was that all a lie?!" He screamed as he punched the wall again.

Memories of his father began flashing through Jurabi's mind.

" _Perhaps Drago was right. Perhaps I was trying to just play god and I was punished for it. If anything, I should be the one who's suffering, not you or your mother. But I will say this, Jurabi: I swear I will fix this somehow. It may not happen today, or even this decade, but I will make you speak and smile again. It will be rough from here on, but as long as I don't give up, I'm sure a bright future will be waiting for you and your sister. I don't even care if I am barred from seeing it. As long as I know you two will live normal lives, that's more than enough. So…there's no hard feelings, right?"_

" _No need to apologize," Nitorin said, "And don't worry. You won't even have to see a Grimm in your life. Once I'm finished with my building project, the Grimm won't be a problem for anyone anymore."_

 _"…Daddy…loves you…and always will…cross my heart…and hope to…make you smile…my little guardian…"_

Jurabi remembers all too well. His father would never condone what his company is doing at the moment and he most definitely would be heartbroken to hear that his son was at the center of it all. Jurabi knew one thing his father wanted above all else: For him and Elise to live in a peaceful world.

"A peaceful world…" Jurabi said as he looked over at the black and red armor he had finished. He stood up walked in front of the armor before taking in a deep breath, "I may have said that I won't use these powers, but it turns out that I need them more than ever."

Wasting no time, Jurabi moved immediately to the armor container. Jurabi slowly but surely put on his armor starting with the coil, then the mail, next the greaves, then the vambraces. All of these components fit together perfectly with the Dust Reactor core powering the armor at the center. Jurabi clenched his fists as his eyes began to turn into black eyes with blood red irises.

"Mom…Dad…watch over me," Jurabi said as he put his hand over his face, "It's my turn to fight…" A dark aura began to shrouded his face, "…for everyone's future!"

In an instant, the wings of a dragon along with a thin tail sprouted from their respective place. Jurabi's skin began growing black dragon scales as a mask resembling the face of a Grimm grew on his face, concealing his identity before he took to the skies on his way to Staneia.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Kingdom of Staneia: Renea~~_

 _~~(Nighttime)~~_

The once peaceful town of Renea was under terrorist attack from the Twilight Syndicates. Faunus families, numbering in the hundreds, were being forced out of their homes and lined up to be executed. Women and children were lined up to be killed first before the men.

"We've finished rounding up the civilians in this area, Captain Tenbou," A Twilight Syndicate soldier reported to a huge, bald, muscular man with three pointy beards coming off his chin.

"Good," Tenbou said, "Don't dolly and execute them. This attack is leaving my tongue starving for some alcohol."

"Yes, sir!" The Twilight Syndicate soldier said.

"You human bastards!" Shouted a voice.

Tenbou turned his attention to one faunus male who stood in his way.

The faunus was a walrus faunus with long, fang teeth that reached to his chin. He wore the traditional, heat resistant armor that one of the Staneia military is known for wearing.

"I am the member of the proud Staneia military, Captain Renmaru!" Renmaru shouted as he readied his spear, "Your filth will not further taint this land! Release my people, my family, and leave this place, or die by my hand!"

"P-Papa!" A boy screamed as his mother held him close in her arms.

Tenbou glared at the faunus as he picked up his black, spiked mace, "If there's one thing I cannot stand more, it's insects who spout empty threats."

"This is no empty threat!" Renmaru shouted, "It is a promise to end your life if you do not comply! I will not tell you this again!"

"Captain Tenbou, give us the order and we'll fill this faunus full of holes," A Twilight Syndicate soldier said, with his fingers holding his gun.

"No," Tenbou said as he stepped forward, "This faunus and the faunus's we have captive must be taught one lesson: Humanity is the superior race to rule over Vastel. These terrorist attacks are only the tips of the iceberg, and the destruction of your villages and towns shall be etched into the minds of all your kin."

"That's if you can kill me first, terrorist scum!" Renmaru shouted as he rushed forward towards Tenbou.

Renmaru put everything he had into his spear thrust straight towards Tenbou's face.

However, Tenbou opened his mouth, caught the spear, and crushed it into pieces with his bear teeth.

"What?!" Renmaru asked.

"Easier done, than said," Tenbou said as he, with one swing, obliterated Renmaru with a swift strike to his abdomen. He sent Renmaru crashing into a building, ribs broken and heart nearly crushed.

"DADDY!" Renmaru's son screamed as his crying mother pulled her son closer to prevent him from getting himself killed.

"Pathetic," Tenbou said before he spat on the ground, "Not even worth avoiding his attack."

"Heh, that's our captain for you," A White Soldier said, "It's rumored that Tenbou actually has the makings of being a Twilight Syndicate Commander, given his abnormal strength, so it's no surprise that faunus underestimated him."

"Let's wrap this up," Tenbou said, "Another second I'm not drinking alcohol is another person I might have to kill."

"Y-yes sir," The Twilight Syndicate soldiers said.

"Hold it…who said our fight was finished?" Renmaru asked as he crawled out of the rubble. Barely breathing, and at death's door, but he still held up his broken spear and stared at his opponent with will.

Tenbou turned back to Renmaru, "Not dead? I was sure to put enough killing force into my attack."

"If that attack was all it took to kill me, I'd be a disgrace of a faunus," Renmaru said.

"More like a roach, to me," Tenbou said, readying his Earthshatter to this time land a killing blow onto Renmaru, "You just need to crush them with complete, unstoppable force!" He shouted as his weapon descended onto the faunus captain.

"NOOO DADDY!" Renmaru's son screamed.

A gust of wind blew Tenbou's weapon off it's intended path and crush the ground beside Renmaru.

"Hm?!" Tenbou stopped and looked towards his left where a deep blizzard storm had appeared.

"What the?! How can a gust of wind divert Tenbou's unstoppable attack?!" A Twilight Syndicate soldier asked.

"On guard, men!" Tenbou commanded as he stared at the blizzard storm, "That was no ordinary gust of wind! There is a dark presence beyond the blizzard."

As Tenbou predicted, a single individual stepped out of the blizzard gust. A human shaped figure wearing black armor with a Grimm mask.

The entrance of this mysterious entity caused a confused ruckus among the Twilight Syndicate soldiers.

"Is that…a Grimm?"

"A human Grimm?"

"Don't Grimm usually travel in packs?"

"Why is this one alone?"

"How can there even be a human-shaped Grimm?"

"Why is it here to begin with?"

Tenbou examined the newcomer from top to bottom, _"Something's not right,"_ He thought, _"Even if our hostages are producing fear, there should be more Grimm alongside this one wanting a piece of their food…unless…the food isn't worth risking their lives fighting whatever this thing is."_

"It's not moving, sir," A Twilight Syndicate soldier, noticing the mysterious Grimm wasn't moving an inch, "Do we open fire?"

"No, do not open fire," Tenbou commanded, "We have no idea what this thing is capable of. Be ready to offer up the faunus' as bait. _If this is indeed a Grimm, then there's no doubt it will prioritize the fearful faunus's. It's in their nature to feed on negative emotions above all else._ "

That was when a strong breeze of wind hit the entire town.

"What the—?!" Tenbou asked.

"A blizzard storm?!" A Twilight Syndicate soldier asked.

"Ahgh! I can't see a damn thing!" Another soldier shouted.

"But this area does not normally have blizzard storms!" Another soldier commented, "Why now?"

"Watch your surroundings, men," Tenbou ordered, "Do not let any of the faunus's escape from your sight!"

"Wait…where did that Grimm go?!" A soldier pointed out.

Tenbou turned back to the spot the Grimm was at only to find that it was gone, "What?! I only looked away for a few seconds!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The sound of a Twilight Syndicate soldier's screamed rang out before it was followed by flesh being slashed apart.

"What was that noise?!" Another soldier asked, "Wait, what's that black—AAAAAAAAH!" Another scream followed by slashed flesh sounds.

"What the hell is going on…?" Tenbou asked, his forehead sweating.

"C-Captain! Help me!" Another soldier shouted, the sound of bullets being fired before they were cut off by the sound of a blade and utter silence.

Tenbou's hands and legs were shaking, but he kept his guard up and looked all around him, "Wh-Whoever or whatever you are, show yourself! Face me, Captain Tenbou of the Twilight Syndicates!"

The blizzard storm quickly dissipated, allowing easy vision.

Tenbou immediately redirected his attention to his men, only to be met by a horrific sight. Nothing but blood and pieces of his men's limbs scattered everywhere.

"The hell?!" He asked as he looked around at the dead, sliced-in-half bodies of his men.

But what is really catching Tenbou's attention above all that, is that not a single one of the faunus hostages were touched or even moved from their spots.

Standing in the middle of the blood soaked field was the Grimm with its black blade dripping in red blood.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" Tenbou shouted, turning his attention to the Grimm, "YOU DAMN GRIMM! YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!"

"…"

"YOU KILLED MY MEN BUT LEFT THOSE FILTHY FAUNUS'S ALONE?!" Tenbou shouted as he rushed towards the Grimm at full force with his Earthshatter ready to kill it in one blow, "WHAT KIND OF GRIMM PICKS WHO IT DOES OR DOESN'T KILL?! WHAT KIND OF GRIMM WOULD PROTECT A FAUNUS?!"

The Grimm moved to the left slightly and rushed close to Tenbou before he even realized he was there.

"….This Grimm…" He whispered as he instantly drew Fallen Angel and slashed across Tenbou's body.

"….I-it…c-can…t-ta—" Tenbou had already died before finishing his statement as the upper half of his body, along with half of his Earthshatter, slid off their bottom halfs. Tenbou's blood sprayed all across the snow.

It was then that the faunus villagers realized that the Twilight Syndicates were all dead, but when they saw the new Grimm, they were terrified and did not move an inch.

The Grimm turned his attention to Renmaru, who was coughing up blood.

"Y-You…" Renmaru whispered, "I…heard…"

The Grimm walked over to Renmaru.

"GET AWAY FROM MY DADDY!" Renmaru's son screamed.

The Grimm kneeled down next to Renmaru, "The Zenith Missiles they are using," He asked in a deep voice, "Where can I find them?"

"I-In the northeast…" Renmaru said, "Be careful. The Twilight Syndicate…set up…defensive positions around…that weapon…"

The Grimm said nothing and immediately went towards that direction.

The townspeople all thought they were going to be killed when the Grimm walked towards them, but he simply walked past all of them without so much as a glance.

Then Renmaru's son shouted, "Hey, Grimm!" He shouted, "Th-Thank you for saving my Daddy and not killing my town! But that doesn't mean I like you!"

The Grimm stopped.

"That's enough out of you, young man!" Shouted Renmaru's wife as she pulled the boy back into the crowd.

"…Take care of your father, kid," The Grimm said as he continued to move forward.

The entire townsfolk stood there in silence after hearing a Grimm talk with a full sentence.

"Did…did that Grimm just…talk…?"

"Wait…that Grimm didn't kill us?!"

"Not just that…but a Grimm SAVED us?!"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Several Minutes Later~~_

Five Staneia drop ships loaded with military men arrived at Renea. The soldiers immediately tended to the civilians, treated the wounded, and investigated the area.

"General, sir, we've completed a sweep of the area!" A Staneia soldier reported.

The Staneian general nodded, "Report?"

"Aside from two civilian casualties, no major loss of life to report," The soldier said, "However, we've received troubling reports from the civilians in relation to the cause of the Twilight Syndicate soldiers' deaths."

"Troubling reports?" The general asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, several of them say that it wasn't a person who killed the Twilight Syndicates, but a Grimm," The soldier said.

"Impossible," The general said, examining the clean cut done onto Tenbou's body, "No Grimm in existence can make a cut this clean and precise. Plus, the civilians are still alive. Grimm do not discriminate between friend or foe. We living beings are all food to them. Keep investigating the area and prepare the civilians to be evacuated once we're finished."

"Yes, sir!" The soldier said.

"General, an urgent report!" Another soldier shouted.

"What is it?" The general asked.

"Scouts are reporting that a huge explosion had occurred at a recently discovered Twilight Syndicate base camp to the northeast!" The soldier reported.

"No engagement was authorized by Chief Webber," The general said, "Who was it in our ranks who disobeyed direct orders?"

"You won't believe this, sir, but the scouts say that they couldn't see the one responsible," The soldier said, "All they could see was….black flames."

The general's eyes popped wide open. He didn't hesitate, "Prepare my transport! Alpha Unit, you're with me! The rest of you, continue evacuating the civilians!"

"G-General, what's gotten into you, sir?!" A soldier asked.

But the general didn't listen to any words being said to him. All he could think about was the fact of that monstrous Zenith Grimm, the bitter taste of defeat at its hands, and the faces of his two best friends who lost their lives fighting it.

"No way in hell…" He thought to himself as his transport rushed to the northeast at full speed, "No way in hell a Grimm would do this!"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Northeast of Renea~~_

The general and his men arrived at the remains of a Twilight Syndicate base camp only to find just as it was reported. The area was littered in the dead bodies of Twilight Syndicate soldiers—either killed by a blade that separated their bodies in two, or by the black flames that continue to burn away at their corpses.

"Spread out!" The general ordered his squad, "Search the area and remain on guard."

"Yes sir!"

The general and his men did a thorough sweep of the Twilight Syndicate camp, but found no signs of any large Grimm. This puzzled him since there is no way a small Grimm would cause this much damage.

"General! I found a survivor!" A Staneia soldier shouted.

The general immediately went to the scene and saw a Twilight Syndicate survivor with his hands gripped onto his shoulder as his body shivered.

"You, tell us what happened here," The general ordered the survivor.

"I-I saw it…!" The Twilight Syndicate soldier, "The Grimm…that was no ordinary Grimm…"

"…Are you referring to the Zenith Grimm of Vulna: Ragnarok?" Saratos asked.

"Y-Yes! B-But Ragnarok was different!" The Twilight Syndicate soldier shouted, "It was in the shape of a human, but it had a blade that cut through everyone and everything in its path! And the fire it breathed, was pitch black but we could never douse it no matter what we hit it with."

"It is Ragnarok…" The general said, clenching his fists.

"But that's impossible," A Staneia soldier said, "According to this man's testimony, this Grimm was shaped like a human."

"General Bion, sir! We've discovered the remains of the rumored Zenith Missiles the Twilight Syndicate have smuggled from Alisen Industries," A Staneia soldier said.

"It destroyed the Zenith Missiles too?" The general asked, "That was supposed to be our mission! Take this Twilight Syndicate soldier to base for interrogation. I need to report this to Chief Webber. Something is going on…and I believe Alisen Industries might be involved."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Achilles Residence~~_

 _~~Five Hours Later~~_

An urgent news report was being broadcasted in cities all over Vastel about the incident in Renea.

 _"We are here to give an urgent news report. The peaceful town Renea has been attacked hours ago by the human terrorist group known as the Twilight Syndicates. This terrorist group plagued all of Staneia and Sokkitia with repeated, small attacks on towns and villages in their quest to assure human dominance. However, in a bizarre phenomenon, the Twilight Syndicates that attacked Renea have been quickly dispatched, but the Staneia military isn't claiming responsibility. It is still unclear who or what intervened, but regardless, the citizens of Staneia can breathe at ease knowing that someone is protecting them from the Twilight Syndicate attacks. Witnesses of Renea are unfortunately being watched over by the military, so all attempts at an interview with them have been denied. We will keep you updated on any new information at this time. Thank you."_

Gerald watched the news report before his phone rang. He received a text message from an anonymous sender.

 _"We need to talk. You made a grave mistake putting us in this mess."_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~New Alisen Residence~~_

Elise was on her way to Jurabi's workshop. After she was left alone at the party, she was worried and wondered where Jurabi could have gone. Her first thought was to try and find him in his workshop.

"Jurabi! Are you there?!" She asked, "You left all alone at the party, you jerk! You better have a—" She stopped in her tracks when she saw a horrifying sight.

Jurabi was still in his armor and had his Grimm wings and tail out while he was trying to take off his armor.

"Ugh, damnit!" Jurabi shouted, "Taking this armor off is a lot tougher with the wings and tail still on my body. Being a Grimm is a lot harder than I thought it would be."

"J-Jurabi?!" Elise asked.

Jurabi turned around and saw Elise standing behind him. Elise had her hands covering her mouth. Jurabi saw his sister's eyes widen further when he turned his face to her.

"…Let's be honest, Elise, that time you caught me dressed up as a clown for your birthday was way scarier than this, right?"

"…Are those bullet holes?!" Elise asked, noticing the bullet holes on Jurabi's armor.

"…Maybe?" Jurabi asked, but when it was clear that Elise was on the verge of screaming, he quickly said, "Okay yes they're bullet holes, but before you go screaming your lungs off, I'm still Jurabi, Elise."

"What happened to you?!" Elise asked.

"Okay, before all of that, can I first take off this armor? Because I really need to go to the bathroom," Jurabi said.

After Jurabi managed to take off his armor and take a bathroom break, he and Elise sat across from each other. There was a long, awkward moment of silence.

"…You're mad at me aren't you?" Jurabi asked.

"Mad? Y-You think I'm mad?" Elise asked, laughing, but to Jurabi, she didn't laugh out of joy, "I think I'm going insane right now. I'm just wondering when this nightmare is going to end because I sure as hell want it to!"

"…So….I'll take it as a yes?" Jurabi asked.

"What…the hell…HAPPENED TO YOU?!" Elise shouted.

"…I embraced myself as a Grimm," Jurabi said.

"What?! Embraced?!" Elise asked.

"I know…it doesn't make any lick of sense," Jurabi said, "But take it like this: I've had Grimm blood injected into me as a kid somehow. It may have been on the day of that accident that left me emotionless."

"Just like the notes on Apathy Grimm symptoms said…" Elise said, covering her mouth as tears fell from her eyes, "Oh my god…my little brother…"

"This isn't your fault, Elise," Jurabi said.

"IT IS MY FAULT!" Elise screamed, "I promised…that I wouldn't take my eye away from you, but when I was so focused on my Grimm research…that I didn't notice you suffering! You were kidnapped, tortured, and had to escape on your own, but even after I finally got to see you again, I still took my eyes off of you, thinking that you would be just fine! And now…."

"…And now I'm on a mission to eliminate the Twilight Syndicates," Jurabi said, "There's really nothing to worry about."

"Eliminate the Twilight Syndicates?" Elise asked before she realized, "Wait, don't tell me you were the one responsible for saving Renea."

"Yes, I am," Jurabi said, "I figured that since my weapons were killing the faunus, I should be the one to stop this crisis, and so I did."

"By using Grimm powers?" Elise asked as Jurabi nodded.

"You're the only person who knows this, Elise," Jurabi said, "As long as you don't say anything…"

"You say that there's nothing to worry about, but what do you think will happen when the public finds out about this?!" Elise asked, "What about the Hunter Council and the other kingdoms?"

"…I don't know," Jurabi said, "I never made any plans for after I get rid of the Twilight Syndicates."

"You'll be killed if people find out that you're a Grimm, Jurabi," Elise said.

"I know that, but…" Jurabi clenched his fists, "I can't die yet. Not until I make amends—not until I fulfill my promise to Rachel. So please, Elise, I'm begging you. Do not tell anyone this," Jurabi said, "I don't want you to have the Hunter Council's eyes trained on you."

"Jurabi…" Elise said before letting out a frusterated sigh. She understood that Jurabi is contempt with being a Grimm, but they couldn't accept it even if Jurabi asked them to, "You…are such a handful…"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Staneia Kingdom~~_

 _~~Two Days Later~~_

Hakruma and his men had finished bringing together all the parts of the original armor Jurabi created and had placed them in a container.

"Hakruma, sir!" A Twilight Syndicate soldier called, "He is here."

"Good," Hakruma said as he went outside to see three drop ships arrived at the gates of his base camp.

A few Vulnan soldiers dropped off from the drop ships including one man.

"So…you all seem to be doing fine after your little…accident," The man said, stepping out of the drop ship's shadow as Gerald.

"Good to see you too, Achilles," Hakruma said sarcastically.

"You didn't call me just so I could lend you a _hand_ , did you," Gerald said with a smile while staring at Hakruma's right side, which was missing an arm.

"…"

"Tough customer," Gerald said, "I don't think you should be complaining since you were the one who let Alisen live despite being paid by me to kill him."

"You know as well as the rest of us that Alisen was crucial to the Twilight Syndicates' operations," Hakruma said, "If it weren't for your request, we wouldn't be so short on supplies, but now Alisen is making an effort to eliminate us!"

"Show me the weapon," Gerald said.

"Come, but only if you men stay outside," Hakruma said.

Gerald gave the order for his men to remain where they stand as Hakruma led him inside his personal tent where the Grimm armor Jurabi built was.

"My, my…" Gerald said.

"Alisen's escape bore unexpected fruit," Hakruma said.

"So this is how he did it," Gerald said, examining the armor, "A kid like him beating 50 armed Twilight Syndicates in his escape. I knew something was up when he returned to Vulna."

"And this armor was his first creation from the materials that were intended to build the Zenith Missiles," Hakruma said, "Alisen has since perfected his design and has created master piece of death, befitting the title of a Grimm."

"Grimm?" Gerald asked.

"I saw it with my own eyes," Hakruma said, "A Grimm with human features that breathes black flames from its mouth and cuts men with a blade forged in the shadows. Quite similar…to the Shadow Dragon of Vulna: Ragnarok."

"Jurabi is a Zenith Grimm…" Gerald said, "So all that talk about the Grimm Champion wasn't just nonsense from the boss after all."

"A man with control of an army of Zenith Grimm can rule over not only the faunus, but all of Vastel itself," Hakruma said as he turned to Gerald, "And you seek the throne of Alisen Industries; thus, we have a common enemy."

"I seek the extinction of the faunus race for my own benefit, Hakruma," Gerald said, "I don't see much of a reason to risk my neck for your group."

"Rest assured, Achilles," Hakruma said as he grabbed a glass and pored alcohol into it, "You and I can still do business even if we had our little disagreement. I can give you the designs as a gift…and in turn, I hope you'll repay the Twilight Syndicates with a gift of Grimm soldiers."

Gerald smiled as he placed a hand on Hakruma's shoulder. His finger nails spontaneously grew sharp. They let off a small spark before Gerald dug them deep into the Hakruma's shoulder.

Hakruma felt his nerves shut down, preventing him from moving a single atom of his body.

"I appreciate the offer but I prefer to simply take the blueprints and leave," Gerald said, "Can't risk you selling me out on the inevitable day that I "accidentally" leak your location to the government. Don't worry, my semblance: Paralysis, will only last 15 minutes, which is the least of your worries. A pleasure doing business with you, Hakruma."

Gerald left Hakruma's tent and saw that his own men had the Twilight Syndicates on their knees, "Load the armor and blueprints onto the truck. Leave no evidence that we were here."

As the sounds of gunshots were ringing in his ears, Gerald went into his personal vehicle and started a phone call, "Set up Sector 6 underneath the Dust Reactor. I want these blueprints data masked. Recruit our top engineers so we can get a prototype ready as soon as possible."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Workshop~~_

 _~~Three Days Later~~_

"Bullet Number 83…" Jurabi muttered to himself while he was pulling out any bullets that were stuck in his Grimm Armor, "Geez, these bullets are getting harder to find," He didn't hear the sounds of Elise walking into this workshop, however.

"Jurabi…" Elise said.

Jurabi stopped what he was doing and turned to Elise, "Hey, Elise, perfect timing. Are you busy?"

"I…um…"

"I need you to fetch something really important," Jurabi said as he took out a blue jump drive, "I need you to go to my office and hack into the mainframe to retrieve all of the documents of the recent shipments of weapons by Alisen Industries. This jump drive comes with a lock chip so you'll get past the firewalls and password locks easily. The documents are most likely going to be under the executive files. If not, then they put it on a ghost drive, which case you need to look for the lowest, numeric file."

"And what do you plan on doing once I get you all of this?" Elise asked.

"Same plan," Jurabi said, "My company has been illegally shipping weapons to the Twilight Syndicates. I'm going to find my weapons and destroy them."

"Jurabi…you know that as your sister that I would help you with anything…but I cannot help you if you're going to start all of this again," Elise said.

"There is nothing except this," Jurabi said, "There are no benefits, no rewards, and no self-satisfactions!" He turned to Elise, "There's only the next mission for me…and nothing else!"

"If that's the case…then I won't help you," Elise said before she tossed the jump drive back onto the table and turned to leave.

"Elise…you said _nothing_ while I was stuck in my own world, reaping the benefits from the lives my company has ruined, but the second I wish to make amends and protect the faunus's I put in harm's way you're going to walk out on me?!" Jurabi asked.

"This has nothing to do with the faunus's, Jurabi! You are going to get yourself KILLED!" Elise shouted.

"AND SO WHAT?!" Jurabi shouted, "Compared to Mom, Dad, and Rachel, I'M the one who deserved to die, not them! Mom and Dad were heroes in their own right and Rachel was innocent! What am I?! Just a kid who hurt faunus's just cause he was told that they're bad! I may be a Grimm now…and I may have done despicable things in the past, but I REFUSE to allow any more people suffer!"

"Why…? Why would you go so far?" Elise asked, "You only have one life, yet you're willing to risk it all?! Especially when you're a Grimm?!"

"I'm not crazy, Elise," Jurabi said, "I just finally know what it is I need to do, and I know in whatever human heart I have left that it's right."

"…"

"Dad wanted a peaceful for the two of us to grow up in, but we have to face reality, Elise," Jurabi started, "That world won't come to us. We have to make it. So I'm deciding to walk the path that takes me to that world. No matter what, I will eradicate the Grimm from Vastel and make a safe world for everyone. That dream was what our parents wanted for the both of us, so they pushed themselves day and night to make that dream into a reality. Loving parents like them both deserved better than what happened to them that night—same as Rachel and her husband. That's why no matter how much pain I go through, no matter how hard things get, no matter how much the world hates me….I will stick to my path to the VERY…END!"

"…" Elise walked back to the desk where she dropped the jump drive and picked it back up, "I don't think you deserve to die, Jurabi. I wish, more than anything, for things to go back to the way things were. The only thing I can do now is keep you safe the best way I can, but now you're…"

"It's okay to feel that way, Elise," Jurabi said, "I'm sorry that I changed so drastically that I made you feel lonely. I am still the little brother you love so dearly. I promise you, I won't leave you alone ever again, but I need to do this."

Elise nodded, "I understand," She said as she turned to leave.

"And thanks…for the present, by the way," Jurabi said, "It was nice.

Elise smiled before she said, "You're welcome," She said before leaving the room.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Industries~~_

Elise wasted no time going through Alisen Industries. When asked what her business was, she told the employees that she was here to pick something up for Jurabi. Once she was guided to Jurabi's office, she sat down at the chair and inserted the jump drive Jurabi gave her. Just as Jurabi said, the drive allowed her to bypass the password section and the firewalls that came with the unauthorized access. The drive automatically located the ghost drive Jurabi needed.

Elise opened up one of the folders which contained shipping information on the Zenith Missiles, which Jurabi didn't authorize. The next folder, named "Sector 6", opened up and it showed blueprints for an armor titled "Ursa Armor".

"Ursa Armor?" Elise whispered, "My god…Gerald are you planning on using that power too?"

The next folder contained a video footage of the Twilight Syndicates with Jurabi as their hostage.

"Gerald Achilles, on behalf of the Twilight Syndicates, we are greatly displeased with your actions," A Twilight Syndicate soldier said, "You did not tell us that the target you paid us to kill was the prodigy Jurabi Alisen! As you can see, your deception and lies will cost you dearly as we, the Twilight Syndicates, shall inform our boss of your betrayal, and as such, you will be banned from the Twilight Syndicates for life."

"Gerald was a member of the Twilight Syndicates?" Elise asked before she initiated the copying process.

"Ah, Elise!" Gerald shouted as he entered the office.

"O-oh, Mr. Achilles," Elise said.

"I wasn't expecting you, today," Gerald said, "I thought you were holed up in room, or should I call it a lab? What's the occasion?"

"Well, Miss Chandani asked me to take a look at the current weapons Alisen Industries is building and see if they are cost effective for the hunters," Elise said, "You know, since each type of Grimm have a certain weakness and all."

"I assure you that our weapons are of peak conditioning," Gerald said, "And well…I don't want to give any hints, but soon we'll be able to go higher than that. Drink?" He asked as he walked over to the drink table.

"Oh, no thanks," Elise said, "But I'm kinda curious, are you making something that can go beyond peak conditioning?"

"Indeed," Gerald said as he grabbed a bottle of alcohol, "But I can't tell you any more than that. Anyways, it's good that you've come here. I've always wanted to ask for your perspective on Jurabi."

"On Jurabi?" Elise asked.

"You understand the feeling that Jurabi is giving the rest of us more than anyone, Elise," Gerald said, focusing on his drink.

Elise covered up the drive with a newspaper and put the computer screen on "screensaver mode" while Gerald wasn't looking, "I…don't know what you mean."

"The feeling of abandonment," Gerald clarified, "I, too, was torn apart when I heard that Nitorin died. That great man was like a brother to me. We were taught by our adopted father to be great inventors of amazing weapons, but eventually Nitorin surpassed me every step of the way…and I was happy for him. The day I saw his newborn son, Jurabi, run through the bottom floor of this building, I immediately saw potential in him. After Nitorin's passing I…took it upon myself to teach the boy everything I knew in his father's stead. I had high hopes for him…but wouldn't you know…Jurabi took all of my teachings and kept everything to himself like a spoiled child, but despite all of this, he always gets the good stuff, huh?"

"Yeah, well, Jurabi has gone through a lot," Elise said, "I know deep down he's a good man who would strive to do the right thing…even if people disagree."

"…But that's the thing, Elise: Jurabi isn't doing the right thing," Gerald said, "He believes he's protecting the faunus's, but in reality he's robbing our military and hunters of the powerful weapons they use to protect the people. It's almost as if….he's keeping the responsibility of protecting Vastel all to himself. That's unfair to us, Elise. It's a spit on your father's dream of a better world and all of your mother's actions as a huntress."

"…"

"And here I was, so happy that we finally got Jurabi back after two months of losing him," Gerald said, "It was almost as if we got him back from the dead, but now I realize that Jurabi didn't really come home. He left a crucial part of himself in Staneia. It tears me apart, I tell you. I lost the father and now the son."

"…I….understand what you're saying, Mr. Achilles," Elise said, "But I'm not giving up on Jurabi. He is a bit complicated and can drive you up against a wall, but he's also a dependable person. Jurabi is aware of what you're going through and is making plans on making everything better, so you have nothing to worry about."

"…" Gerald smiled, "You…are a rare existence, Elise. It's a shame that Jurabi ignores you, the only true family he has left. He doesn't realize how lucky he is to still have you there by his side."

"Hehe, th-thank you," Elise said before she stood up from the computer desk. She grabbed onto the newspaper along with the jump drive, "Well, I should be getting back. Miss Chandani gets cranky when I keep her waiting."

"Of course," Gerald said, "It was nice talking with you."

"And the feeling is mutual," Elise said as she turned to leave.

"By the way," Gerald said, making Elise stop in her tracks, "Is that today's newspaper?"

"…Y-Yes," Elise said.

"Would you mind if I hold onto it?" Gerald asked, "I'm a stickler for those puzzles they have."

"Not at all," Elise said, handing over the newspaper without letting Gerald see the black drive in her hand.

"Have a nice day, Elise," Gerald said.

"You too, Mr. Achilles," Elise said as she exited the office.

Once Elise has left his sight, Gerald immediately went over to the computer and undid the screensaver mode. When he did, the first thing he saw was "Download 100% complete".

"She didn't!" He growled before he slammed his fists on the table.

As Elise made it to the ground floor, she ran into Nebula, who was waiting for his appointment.

"Ah, Miss Alisen, is your brother around?" Nebula asked, "I've been waiting for an appointment with him. He didn't forget about it, did he?"

"Nope!" Elise shouted, "I'm here to take the appointment in his stead. Come with me."

"O-okay," Nebula said, hesitantly walking with Elise, "Is there something wrong?"

"Not discussing that here," Elise said, "I'll tell you everything at your office."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Sector 6: Alisen Industries~~_

Gerald marched into the secret Sector 6 area where his prototype, Ursa Armor, was nearing completion. Beside it was an Ursa Grimm that has been recently captured, locked in a dust cage.

"Is my prototype ready, chief?" Gerald asked.

"Ah, Mr. Achilles," The chief engineer said, "Yes, the Ursa Armor is nearing completion, but it seems we've run into a little roadblock."

"A roadblock?" Gerald asked.

"You see, we have all of the components, but we seem to lack the proper power source to power the armor," The chief engineer explained.

"Heheh, you lack the power source?" Gerald asked, "We have the power source right here," He pointed at the dust reactor core, "All I'm asking you to do is to make it smaller and ensure that becoming a Grimm doesn't kill me."

"Of course, sir, but we can't seem to figure out how to do those things," The chief engineer said, "Dust combination always require a large sum of dust in order to work and there's no guarantee that you won't turn into an Apath—"

"JURABI ALISEN WAS ABLE TO BUILD THIS IN A CAVE…!" Gerald shouted at the top of his lungs, "…WITH A BOX OF SCRAP AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COUNCILING FROM A FAUNUS!"

"…With all due respect, sir, we're not Jurabi Alisen," The chief engineer said.

"…Will you have it ready by tonight or not?" Gerald asked.

"We'll need more time, sir," The chief engineer said.

"…We don't have enough time," Gerald said before he took a moment to think of a way to power his suit. He took one look at the hole in the chest, "…Never mind the dust reactor. You just get the armor and the Ursa ready," He said as he left the room, "I'm going to pay my boy, Jurabi, a little visit."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Workshop~~_

 _~~Five Hours Later~~_

Jurabi had just finished fixing his Grimm Armor, but found it odd that Elise hadn't returned yet.

"Where in the world is Elise?" Jurabi asked, "I told her to get the files and come straight back here."

That was when Jurabi heard a knock on the door. Assuming that it was Elise, Jurabi went over and opened the door without asking for who it was.

"There you are, Elise," Jurabi said, but to his surprise, it turned out to be Gerald, "Gerald?!" Jurabi asked, quickly covering his Grimm-like eyes, "What are you doing here this late in the evening?"

Gerald smiled before his nails grew sharp. Taking this opening, he jabbed Jurabi in the abdomen with his nails and paralyzed him.

Jurabi couldn't move an inch after he was stabbed, "Wh-wha…"

"Don't worry, Jurabi," Gerald said as he laid Jurabi on the ground and closed the workshop door behind him, "Just breathe nice and slowly."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Workshop~~_

"Shocking, isn't it?" Gerald asked the paralyzed Jurabi, "For me to turn out to be a hunter with a semblance—a former hunter actually. It's a shame that I had to leave my academy years back. I just couldn't agree with the idea of the Grimm alone being the only threat to civilizations."

"…"

"Ah, Jurabi, to think that you would be hiding this from me," Gerald said, looking closely at Jurabi's Grimm eyes, "I thought something was odd about you, your emotions were in tatters and all after the failure of Project Therion. You've gone and turned into a Grimm and managed to hide it from the world. It's amazing to me that ordering that hit on you ended up with this result. I was prepared for the pain of killing a golden goose."

Gerald took out a circular grappler and inserted it above Jurabi's dust reactor. The grappler undid the attachments that were keeping the dust reactor onto Jurabi's body and pulled it out.

"But it turns out that you, Jurabi, had one last golden egg to give," Gerald said with a smile, "Did you really think that just because you have an idea that it's yours to keep? Let me remind you that it was your father, Nitorin, who invented the modules that allow hunter weapons to change to gun forms. Now imagine a Grimm-infested world where he acted as selfish as you."

He yanked out the cords that connected to the base plate of Jurabi's chest socket, making Jurabi grunt in agony.

Gerald held Jurabi's dust reactor in his hand with a smile, "Ah…it's beautiful. Jurabi, this is a world-changer right here—a master piece. A new path to power that not even your father could open with his brilliant mind filled with a new generation of weapons…with this and the powers of Grimm at its heart—power that will help steer the world back on course and put the balance of power back in humanity's hands; the right hands," He then placed the dust reactor in his brief case, "I wish you could see my prototype. It isn't as cost effective as yours, but I'm sure it'll do a spectacular job. I wouldn't have had this if it weren't for you, Jurabi, so I think it's suitable to give you one gift before you die. I'm sure you're wondering how long I've lied to you," He then smirked, "Remember when I told you that Dr. Vongarus sold your father out to the Eclipse? I had to get rid of him somehow without drawing suspicion to myself as I am doing with you. Don't worry about your sister, I'll be sure to send her to you and your parents personally. It's been nice knowing you, Jurabi."

Gerald left the workshop and closed the door behind him.

"G…era…ld…" Jurabi growled. He could feel the Dark Atoms inside of him growing out of control due to the absence of his dust reactor and his heart was beginning to heat up because of the buildup of fire dust.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~En Route to Alisen Workshop~~_

Aoife was already on her way to Jurabi's workshop in hopes of speaking to him until Elise had called her.

"Wait, what do you mean Gerald paid to have Jurabi killed?!" Aoife asked.

" _I saw it with my own eyes, Miss Chanadani!"_ Elise said through the phone, _"Gerald paid the Twilight Syndicates to have Jurabi killed."_

"Elise, slow down for a bit! Where's Jurabi now?!" Aoife asked.

" _He should be at our home, but he isn't responding to my calls,"_ Elise said, _"Can you please go over there and make sure everything's okay?"_

"What about you?" Aoife asked.

" _I've talked with your friend, Nebula,"_ Elise said, _"We're heading over to Alisen Industries to arrest Gerald."_

"Okay, be careful, Elise," Aoife said.

" _Thank you, Miss Chanadani,"_ Elise said before she hung up.

"Please be okay, Jurabi," Aoife said, "I won't be late this time."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Industries: Sector 6~~_

Gerald returned to his secret room in Alisen Industries where his engineers had finished the final touches of his Ursa Armor.

"Mr. Achilles, you're just in time," The chief engineer said, "We had just finished the Ursa Armor."

"Good, proceed with the Dark Atom insertion procedure and have this dust reactor placed inside the armor," Gerald said, handing Jurabi's dust reactor to the chief scientist, "I want to try this out myself."

"But, sir, we're still running some tests with the Grimm's dark atoms," The chief engineer said, "There's no guarantee that you'll survive."

"If an eighteen-year-old kid is able to control this power, so can I!" Gerald shouted, "Do it, chief. We don't have much time."

"Y-yes, sir," The chief engineer said as they went to prepare for the procedure.

Gerald turned to the Ursa sleeping in its cage, "It's time for the two of us to show the world what true power is."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Outside~~_

Elise, Nebula, and a dozen Vulnan soldiers arrived outside Alisen Industries. Elise led the men through the building and into the Dust Reactor room.

"Sector 6…Sector 6…" Elise looked around for the doorway to Sector 6 until she caught glance of a yellow door with the label on it, "There!"

Elise and the men walked over to the yellow door. When Elise attempted to use Jurabi's ID card to get in, the security on the door rejected it several times.

"It's not going to let me in," Elise said.

"Allow me," Nebula said as he walked towards the lock. With one poke form his fingers, an electrical surge went through the door, disabling the lock.

"Whoa…" Elise said.

"My semblance, Energy Control," Nebula said, "Allows me control over anything that has an electrical circuit," He explained as he opened the door and pulled out a pistol, "Be sure to stay behind me, Miss Alisen."

Elise and Nebula were in the process of investigating the enclosed Sector 6 in Alisen Industries. They found no sign of Gerald inside the dark corridors, but they remained on guard.

"Any sign of Gerald?" Nebula asked.

"Not yet, sir," A soldier said.

"Two people are to guard the exit. The rest of us will spread out into teams of two.," Nebula said, "He's in here somewhere."

They spread out into teams and continued deeper into dark corridors in search for Gerald. Eventually, Elise and Nebula stumbled upon the remains of Jurabi's original Grimm Armor.

"You were right," Nebula said, "Gerald was building a Grimm armor."

"I thought it would be bigger though," Elise said.

"Nebula, sir, over here!" A soldier shouted.

Nebula and Elise went over to the other two soldiers, who found an empty Grimm cage and a few disconnected wires letting off sparks.

"A Grimm cage? Here?" Nebula asked.

"Yes, but it seems that the Grimm that was in here was moved," The soldier said, "Not to mention the sparking wires over there. Looks as if something tore through them."

"Judging from the size of the cage, it likely housed an Ursa," Nebula said, "But why would there be a Grimm here to begin with?"

"…My god…" Elise said, "I think Gerald's plan was to turn himself into a Grimm!"

"Turn himself into a Grimm?" Nebula asked, "That's impossible. No human has ever survived—" His eyes widened before he shouted, "MISS ALISEN! BEHIND YOU!"

Elise turned around and saw huge figure walk out from the darkness.

The figure was a masked man in a suit of armor the size of an Ursa. The mask itself was similar to the bone structure of an Ursa's skull.

"Ah!" Elise screamed as she ran back behind Nebula.

"What the hell is that thing?!" A soldier shouted.

"It doesn't matter now!" Nebula shouted, "Open fire!"

Nebula and the soldiers opened fire on the unknown enemy, but the bullets only bounce off the armor of the target.

"Run, Miss Alisen!" Nebula shouted.

The large, Ursa-like man watched as Elise ran away as fast as she could. Getting annoyed by the bullets being shot at him, the Ursa-like man rushed through the soldiers and Nebula and went straight after Elise.

"No you don't!" Nebula shouted as he loaded his pistol with lightning bullets and fired them at the unknown monster.

When the bullets hit their mark, the monster came to a complete stop and was brought to its knees by the electrical surge.

"Nice shot, sir!" An Vulnan soldier.

"Those lightning bullets won't keep that thing down for long! Be ready!" Nebula shouted; however, the monster had gotten back to its feet faster than he had anticipated, "What?! The lightning dust bullets are supposed to keep that thing down for thirty seconds! It hasn't even been ten!"

The monster pointed its first towards Nebula and a rocket launcher appeared on its arm, firing a rocket at them.

"Get down!" Nebula shouted, as he and the soldiers jumped out of the way, but still felt the impact of the explosion. Nebula's body was flung so fast into the steel pipes that when he hit his head on one, he was immediately knocked unconscious.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

~~New Alisen Residence~~

 _"…Is this…how it ends…?"_ Jurabi thought, still lying on the ground unable to move at all, _"It…can't end…I won't…let it end…"_

"Jurabi?"

Jurabi heard a muffled voice before he saw a blurry vision of Aoife, "M-Miss…Chana…"

"Oh my god…what happened?" Aoife asked, "Can you hear me, Jurabi? Hang in there!"

"T-the old dust reactor…" Jurabi said, "On the table…"

"The dust reactor?" Aoife asked, looking over at the table and seeing the dust reactor present Elise left Jurabi. She quickly ran over to the table and grabbed the reactor, then ran back to Jurabi, "This thing?"

"Y-Yeah…put that in the hole…quick…" Jurabi whispered.

Aoife did as instructed and placed the dust reactor into the socket on Jurabi's chest.

"Is Elise…okay…?" Jurabi asked as his body slowly began to recover.

"Yeah, she's with five hunters including Nebula right now," Aoife said, "They're going to arrest Gerald."

"…Five…isn't enough…" Jurabi said.

"They're well trained people," Aoife said, "Your sister is in capable hands, I assure you."

"No…they're not ready…for what Gerald is going to do," Jurabi said, "He's going to turn himself…into a Grimm…! I need to hurry…!"

"You're too weak, Jurabi," Aoife said, "You need rest."

"I can't!" Jurabi shouted, "He's going to kill Elise!"

"So, he's going to do it too," Aoife said before she nodded, "Okay, hurry up and get ready and we'll leave to save her."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~En Route to Alisen Industries~~_

Jurabi and Aoife were jumping from rooftop to rooftop on their way to Alisen Industries.

"Are you sure you can handle a fight, Jurabi?" Aoife asked, "You could just leave all of this to me."

"I'll be fine, Miss Chanadani," Jurabi said, "I may be unable to use my wings for the time being, but I can still fight. I'm not going to sit by while my sister's life is in danger."

"Then at the very least let me help you," Aoife said, "Two heads in a fight are better than one."

"Thanks Miss Chanadani," Jurabi said, "I just hope we're not too late."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Industries~~_

Elise managed to escape outside Alisen Industries, but was completely out of breath with her heart beating so fast she could feel the beats on her chest. Wasting no time, she tried to call Aoife, but her phone rang before she could. The caller this time was Jurabi.

"Jurabi?!" Elise asked as she picked up the phone.

" _Elise! Are you okay?!"_ Jurabi asked.

"G-Gerald, he's gone insane!" Elise shouted, "He's turned himself into a Grimm just like you!"

" _Listen, Miss Chanadani and I are almost there! Get out of there now!"_ Jurabi shouted.

Jurabi's voice was deafened by the sounds of the ground shaking underneath Elise. Elise turned around and saw the Ursa armored monster shoot out from underneath the ground.

Elise froze when the monster slowly made its way towards here.

"Where do you think you're going, Elise?" The monster said, whose voice sounded similar to Gerald's.

"Gerald…" Elise whispered, "You…you really did turn yourself into a Grimm. Why?!"

"Why?" Gerald asked, "I'm not going to sit by and let Jurabi have all this power to himself. This is a world-changing power, Elise, and I alone will be the one to usher that change; not some brat like your brother," He said as he took out a black double axe, "Give your family my regards when you see them in the afterlife," He then swung his axe at Elise to land a killing blow.

But the blow was blocked by a black sword.

"You can't give your regards to people who aren't dead, Gerald," Jurabi said, glaring at Gerald.

"Still alive?!" Gerald asked, "Not even you are lucky enough to escape death a second time!"

"Now, Miss Chanadani!" Jurabi shouted.

Aoife had jumped down from the rooftop behind Gerald. She took out Dust Malika and drew a zig-zag line with it, "Dust Whirlpool!" From beneath Gerald's feet, a giant whirlpool was summoned, knocking Gerald off his feet.

"Grr…" Gerald growled as he landed on the ground, taking small damage to his Ursa Armor.

"As I thought, his armor can survive a fall like that with no injuries," Aoife said, standing by Jurabi's side against Gerald.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Ark Base~~_

At the main security control center, two Grimm signatures have just caught the staff's attention.

"Two Grimm, in Argyros City city?"

"How did they get through the defenses?"

"It's just like 10 years ago, though…"

"What's going on?"

"Sound the Grimm alarm and send out the hunter squad immediately!"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Industries~~_

"Elise, get yourself someplace safe," Jurabi said to Elise while not turning his back to Gerald.

"But I have to go check up on Nebula and the others," Elise said.

"Okay, do that, but be quick and get as far away from here as possible," Jurabi said.

Elise nodded and ran back into Alisen Industries to look for Nebula.

"Gerald Achilles," Aoife said, "You are under arrest for attempting to murder Jurabi and performing the forbidden act of turning oneself into a Grimm."

"Funny, I didn't think I alone am being arrested for being a Grimm," Gerald said, "That boy you're so fond of is also a Grimm, or did he even tell you that at all?" That was when the Grimm alarm sounded, "Hm…already? Well things are about to get interesting."

"…I had my reasons for staying quiet about what I had become, Gerald," Jurabi said, "I won't make excuses for my actions. You, on the other hand, have more crimes to pay for. You aided in the murder of my father and have repeatedly shipped my company's weapons to terrorists! Worst of all, you lied to me, a child who had lost his father, and blamed an innocent faunus for a crime she didn't commit! To think that you were once a father-figure to me, Gerald!"

"I only taught you everything I knew because I found use in your skills, Jurabi," Gerald said, "As long you made weapons, nothing else mattered. Fueling your hatred for faunus proved to be beneficial for me and the Twilight Syndicates. It's a shame that you weren't killed when I paid them to. Those paranoid freaks think you're actually worth something to them, but to me, you're worth went to the dirt you finished building the Archammer."

"How can you say that?!" Aoife asked, "You're supposed to be a father to Jurabi, but you betrayed him and planned to kill him?! People as heartless as you make me sick!"

"As if an outsider like you would understand," Gerald said, "In every business, there is always competition for control over everything. Jurabi's father was that very same person, and as the saying goes: The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

"It's true…" Jurabi said, "I was like my father. Nothing else mattered to me than the power to make changes, and as a result innocent lives suffered all around me. For the longest time, I believed the one with the weapons and power was the ones who were allowed to be the top of the world."

"Jurabi…" Aoife said.

"However, I also learned something very important—something you need to hear loud and clear, Gerald," Jurabi said, glaring at Gerald, "The path of weapons and power is indeed a valid path to take when searching for a bright and better future for Vastel…BUT, the only people allowed to walk that path are people who put others before themselves and strive to protect Vastel from anything and anyone who dare threatens it! I'm not worthy to take that path…." Jurabi then pointed Fallen Angel at Gerald, "And neither are you, Gerald."

"You insufferable brat!" Gerald shouted as he rushed at Jurabi, "You think you can talk that way to your elders?!"

"You ready, Miss Chanadani?" Jurabi asked.

"I've got your back, Jurabi," Aofie said, feeling a sense of nostalgia from fighting alongside her best friend's son, "I always will."

They both dodged the ground slam attack from Gerald's double axe.

"You both best say your prayers now, because Yamir and I are going to rip you limb from limb," Gerald said.

"We won't back down!" Jurabi shouted as he attacked Gerald with slash attacks so fast that a mirage of Jurabi's form could be barely seen.

Aofie waved Dust Malika to draw a square, "Aquatic Meteor!" She summoned a giant water-made meteor and crashed it down upon Gerald, but the Ursa armor prevented damage onto him.

"Not even a major dent," Jurabi said.

"Neither of you have any idea who you are dealing with," Gerald said, "I was a former hunter at Vastel Academy! Let me show you just how wide the gap between our powers is!" He activated the Earth Dust within Yamir, "Yamir's Fissure!" He shouted as he slammed Yamir onto the ground again.

The ground underneath Jurabi and Aoife exploded from underneath them sending them flying in separate directions.

"Ahh!" Jurabi shouted as he was sent flying through buildings until he crashed into Argyros City Park.

Jurabi picked himself out of the crater, but he soon saw Gerald coming towards him. He activated the Darkness Dust in Fallen Angel, which caused the black blade to be embedded with a Dark Aura. He shot a black, long distance, slash wave at Gerald.

But Gerald didn't slow down in his advance as he easily deflected the attack, "Yamir's Stonecrusher!" He shouted as he swung Yamir with full force at Jurabi.

Jurabi tried to block the attack, but the force he took from blocking was too strong as he was sent crashing into a stopped bus packed with civilians.

"For thirty total years, I've dedicated myself to holding Alisen Industries up!" Gerald shouted, "I helped your father achieve greatness for the day when I can finally take his spot as the one in possession of great power! No one is going to stop me from achieving that goal; least of all, you, Jurabi!" He shouted as he prepared to shoot every rocket and missile loaded into his armor.

Jurabi's eyes widened when he saw the missiles coming this way, "Think fast! Think fast! …Fire!" Jurabi thought as he breathed a stream of black flames at Gerald.

Gerald immediately retracted his weapons and shielded himself from the flames with Yamir, "Impressive! You've managed to control the powers of a Zenith Grimm despite having them for such a short time! But it seems even you have your limits!"

Jurabi was gasping for air after that attack. Using those black flames took a lot from him, and the energy he's getting from his old dust reactor isn't enough to keep him fighting for long.

"It's time to end this…" Gerald said.

"Whirlwind!" Aoife shouted as she summoned the same water whirlwind to keep Gerald occupied before she rushed to Jurabi's side, "Jurabi, are you alright?"

"I'm losing too much power…we've got to end this fight fast," Jurabi said.

"Why not pull back and let the other hunters—"

"No!" Jurabi shouted, "Gerald has this cursed power because of me, and too many people suffered at his hands because of my negligence! I have to be the one to end this…"

"…Please, don't overdo it," Aoife said, resting a hand on Jurabi's shoulder, "This burden of yours shouldn't be carried alone."

"Then…will you still help me?" Jurabi asked, "Knowing full well what I am?"

"Your like a son to me, Jurabi," Aoife asked, "I may not have been able to help raise you as Gerald did, but…I will support you however I can."

"Miss Chanadani…" Jurabi whispered.

"So, tell me the plan?" Aoife asked.

"…I noticed that when I breathed those black flames, Gerald retracted the missiles and rockets he was going to shoot at me," Jurabi pointed out, "If we can land a clean fire attack while he has those out, we can cause them to explode while they're still on him. His armor is protecting those weapons now, so we need to hit him while they're exposed."

"So how do we get him to expose those weapons?" Aoife asked.

"…By having myself backed into a corner," Jurabi said, standing up, "Draw his attention for a bit. I know the best place to do this."

"Don't do anything reckless, Jurabi," Aoife said.

"When has a request like that ever stopped me, Miss Chanadani?" Jurabi asked.

"I had a feeling you would say that…" Aoife said with a giggle.

That was when Gerald managed to break through Aoife's stall attack.

"Cute trick, but it'll take more than that to stop me!" Gerald shouted.

Aoife wasted no time moving in the opposite direction as Jurabi and landing some long-ranged water attacks on Gerald. Though she wasn't able to do much damage, she succeeded in drawing his attention.

While Aoife had Gerald distracted, Jurabi made a phone call to Elise.

"Elise," Jurabi said.

" _Jurabi? Are you okay?"_ Elise asked.

"Our attacks aren't working," Jurabi said, "But I have a plan to take down Gerald. We need to lure him to the rooftop of Alisen Industries and overload the Dust Reactor."

" _But how are you going to overload the reactor?"_ Elise asked.

"You're going to do it, Elise," Jurabi said, "Head to the main control panel, set the reactor to Flame Dust, and then switch all of the panels to maximum power. Once I give the signal, you're going to hit the Master Bypass button. The Dust Reactor will only overload towards the rooftop, so don't worry about Nebula and the others."

" _Okay, I'm heading to the Dust Reactor room,"_ Elise said.

"Make sure to wait until I give you the signal," Jurabi said before he saw Aoife get sent flying into a car by Gerald, "And hurry!"

Aoife was on her knees panting heavily as her aura was about to reach critical levels.

Gerald went in to deliver the finishing blow with Yamir.

"No you don't!" Jurabi shouted as he jumped on Gerald's back.

"Get off me!" Gerald shouted, trying to shake Jurabi off his back.

Jurabi scanned the armor and, to his surprise, he managed to find the targeting system sitting out in the open at the armor's nape, "Well this looks important," He said as he ripped out the targeting system of the armor.

"Gah!" Gerald shouted.

Jurabi jumped off Gerald, "Yeah that was important to you."

"You'll die slowly for that!" Gerald shouted.

"Oof, if that's the punishment I get, I'd hate to see the punishment for when I tell everyone that you wear teddy bear pajamas to bed," Jurabi said, "…I'd be smirking confidentially if I could."

Gerald was silent, but the killing intent behind the swing of Yamir he unleashed onto Jurabi was more than enough for Jurabi.

"Catch me if you can, old man," Jurabi said as he rushed off.

Gerald wasted no time storming after the Grimm. Little did he know that they were heading to Alisen Industries.

"Jurabi…" Aoife said as she tried to move to help Jurabi, but was too weak to move far, "Ngh, is he leading Gerald to the reactor? The fire dust…is he going to overload it? Then that means…" Her eyes widened before her body suddenly became numb of the pain and the woman began making her way to Alisen Industries as fast as she could.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Industries~~_

Elise had almost finished setting the Dust Reactor to maximum power while Jurabi had successfully lured Gerald to the rooftop.

Jurabi had spent a few minutes blocking all of Gerald's strong attacks. One of Gerald's attacks were powerful enough to send Jurabi crashing against a piped, knocking both the wind and his Grimm out of him. He landed right above the Dust Reactor core, gasping for air.

"So this is where you've chosen to die, Jurabi?" Gerald asked, picking up Jurabi's Grimm mask, "A fitting grave for the prodigal son of Alisen Industries."

"I'm…not finished…yet," Jurabi said.

"Persistent one…" Gerald said, "But I must admit one thing: Ironic as it is, I have deeply enjoyed being a Grimm!" He shouted as he crushed Jurabi's Grimm mask, which caused it to turn to dust.

"This power is cursed, Gerald," Jurabi said, "No good can come from anyone using it!"

"Yet you've been doing just fine," Gerald said, "Admit it. You don't want anyone else having a piece of this power!"

"It's not because of the power," Jurabi said, "It's because of what it does to your soul—your whole being. To have this power, you must give up something in exchange. I unintentionally lost my positive emotions when I turned into a Grimm."

"And I had to give up my aura and semblance to become a Grimm," Gerald said, "I'd say that's a fair trade for me."

"You gave up the powers you had as a hunter to become a monster?!" Jurabi asked.

"Yeah, and I have you to thank. You finally did the impossible, Jurabi," Gerald said, "Your father would be proud."

"Jurabi, the Dust Reactor core is ready," Elise shouted from below, "Hurry up and get off the roof!"

"Oh you're not going anywhere!" Gerald shouted as he opened up his right arm and shot a missile at the glass ground underneath Jurabi.

Jurabi quickly grabbed onto the edge of the glass ceiling to prevent himself from falling into the Dust Reactor.

Elise quickly shielded herself from the glass that fell from the ceiling. Once they stopped, she looked back up and saw Jurabi clinging to life, "JURABI!"

"How ironic, Jurabi!" Gerald shouted, "You tried to rid the world of weapons by opening the path to godhood!"

"Elise!" Jurabi shouted.

"And now, I'm going to kill you as a god," Gerald said as he opened all of his weapons to fire on Jurabi. He fired a missile at Jurabi, but his shot was way off the mark, "Tch, you ripped out my targeting system."

"Push the button, Elise!" Jurabi shouted.

"You told me to wait until you cleared the roof!" Elise shouted.

"Hold still, you little runt!" Gerald shouted as he shot another missile that missed again, but was much closer than the last.

"JUST DO IT!" Jurabi shouted.

"BUT YOU'LL DIE!" Elise shouted.

Gerald shot another missile at Jurabi that was much closer to him. The impact caused Jurabi's grip on the edge to loosen.

"PUSH IT!" Jurabi screamed at his sister.

Upon hearing her brother's desperate plea, Elise pushed the Master Bypass button for the Dust Reactor and ran as fast as she could away.

The Dust Reactor changed to a fiery red as it became overloaded in dust and released any excess towards the rooftop.

Jurabi was ready to be engulfed in the flames until.

"Bubble Shield!"

The explosion caught both Jurabi and Gerald and lit the entire rooftop of Alisen Industries on fire. Because the missiles and rockets on Gerald's armor were exposed to the heat, they ended up exploding on contact while still attached to his Grimm body, which had been weakened by the Fire Dust being released around him.

Once the explosion had subsided, Gerald's body was left limb. The only thing he could see was Jurabi lying on the ground unconscious, but surrounded by a Bubble-like shield.

"I…can't believe…I would lose…with this much power…" Gerald said.

"You did," Aoife said as she walked towards Gerald, "You had the power just like Jurabi, but what you didn't realize is that this power of yours comes with a heavy burden and responsibility."

"…Hehe…Hahah, don't make…me laugh," Gerald said, "Jurabi…is no different from me…or any of the terrorists…"

"He's far better a person than you will ever be," Aoife said.

"I wouldn't…be so sure of that…" Gerald said, "Something tells me…that being a Zenith Grimm…will drive him into insanity…if only I could live, to see that. It would make using him…so worth it…"

"I have on question for you," Aoife said with a glare, "What was your purpose in using Jurabi to make weapons to kill faunus?"

"…Isn't it obvious…?" Gerald asked, "…To bring reality down upon those faunus. To make them understand…that there never was any peace between...them and humanity…that…was always my goal. And also…because I believe conflict alone exists…You don't seriously believe that peace…is real, do you?"

"I believe in peace as long as it is possible," Aoife said.

"Fool…keep that mindset…" Gerald said as his body began to vanish into dust, "You'll change your mind…the moment the war starts…"

"War?" Aoife asked as Gerald's body completely disappeared, "War with who?" But she put those words into the back of her mind as she walked up to Jurabi's unconscious body, wrapped up in her Bubble Shield. She smiled before she patted Jurabi's head.

"You did a fine job, Jurabi," Aoife said, "Your parents would be so proud of you. Rest for now, because soon…you'll be called upon for an even greater challenge."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Alisen Industries~~_

 _~~The Next Day~~_

After the event on the rooftop of Alisen Industries, Jurabi was in his office letting Elise treat his wounds.

"Ah! Hey, I may be a Grimm but that still hurts like hell!" Jurabi shouted.

"Oh stop being such a baby, Jurabi," Elise said, "You cheated death like what? Three times now?"

"Actually, four times because I nearly died to those missiles Gerald's shot at—OW!"

"Is Mr. Alisen ready to make his public statement?" Nebula asked as he walked into the office.

"Almost," Jurabi said, "Though, I'm not sure how the public is going to take me being a Grimm."

"Oh, the public won't know. We have the perfect story set up," Nebula said handing Jurabi a couple of bandages along with a few flashcards, "You'll go blind in their eyes. Those flashcards are your alibi statements. The story is that you were on your yacht at the time of the incident, but fortunately one of your bodyguards managed to stop the attack from the Twilight Syndicates."

"Is that even going to work?" Elise asked.

"It will," Nebula said, "We have four papers as solid evidence of you being there and 50 sworn statements from your guests."

"Wow, who in the world is pulling the strings for a story like that to be fabricated?" Jurabi asked.

"I'm surprised too," Nebula said, "Normally, Vastel Academy wouldn't go so far as to protect an individual, but this person pulling the strings likes to make a case about keeping you safe from the public and the Hunter Council."

"Wait, is it Miss Chandani?" Elise asked.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that question," Nebula said.

"There's nothing about Gerald," Jurabi said, flipping through the flashcards.

"That's being handled," Nebula said, "He's on vacation, but the aircraft he was on had such a poor safety record."

"Okay, but what about the story about the bodyguard?" Jurabi asked, "A bodyguard with a Grimm mask? I'm a little worried about that because it might be a little flimsy."

"This isn't my first time manipulating information, Mr. Alisen," Nebula said, "Just stick to the official statement and all of this will be behind you."

"Okay…" Jurabi said.

"You've got 90 seconds," Nebula said before he turned to leave.

"Oh, Mr. Nebula," Elise said, "I'd like to thank you so much for helping us."

"That's what we do," Nebula said with a smile before he turned to leave the office, "You'll be hearing from us again someday."

"And I'll be looking forward to it," Elise said.

"You know, the headlines on the news is saying something like "New Form of Ragnarok? The Mysterious Humanoid Grimm?"

"Ragnarok?" Elise asked.

"Must have been from that one village I saved from the Twilight Syndicates in Staneia," Jurabi said, "Those are the only other people whose seen my with my wings and tail."

"Well it's not like you're going to use that name anyway," Elise said, placing the newspaper down, "Why don't we get this show on the road already? I need a nap after all of this."

"I dunno, the name doesn't seem all that bad," Jurabi said, "I mean, I kinda am Ragnarok technically…well a form of it at least."

"No, you're not, Jurabi," Elise said. "You are the proud son of the genius, Nitorin Alisen, and the beautiful huntress, Dana Alisen. Now turn around so I can wrap these bandages around your eyes."

"I know that, but think about it," Jurabi said, "I have an over-the-top lady as a mother figure…and well…" Jurabi trailed off.

"And what?" Elise asked, "An idiot sister who you wish was less of a pain in the ass to deal with?"

"What?! N-no…um….well…" Jurabi stopped for a bit, "It's more of a…dance type relationship."

"Oh? A dance type relationship?" Elise asked.

"Yeah, you know, we have one dance scene after a heart-to-heart scene—"

"It was before that," Elise corrected.

"Yes, before that," Jurabi said, "And then I saved that sister," Jurabi said as he turned around, "And then the next day I remind her of how much of a screw up I was for what I did at that party."

"…You mean when you left me out there?" Elise asked.

"…Yeah," Jurabi said, uncovering one of the bandages to look at Elise, "Then this will be the moment when I…well…ask for a chance to make amends to that mistake. Would you…be willing to give me a second chance, Elise?"

"…Hehehe, it's almost time, Mr. Alisen," Elise said, closing off the bandage hole Jurabi was using, "Don't bump into a wall on your way there," She then whispered in his ear, "And don't worry about making up the dance. I loved it. Save it for when you eventually get a girl to like you"

"…" The corners of Jurabi's mouth twitch a little upwards after hearing that.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Somewhere in Vulna~~_

Inside a large and old attic, there was a well lit room with a television, a warm bed, and a shelf full of books.

"Okay, I'm ready for tomorrow," A female said as she finished packing her belongings.

The female was small in stature, easily mistaken for a middle school student. She had long, light blue to silver hair and round, purple eyes. Her bust was medium sized fitting well with her long, slender arms and legs. One her right shoulder there is a winter tribal tattoo of a wolf howling up at the Crescent moon.

The female wore a simple, white combat dress with blue trims on the side alongside a black body shirt underneath the cloth. While she is barefooted, there are bandages covering her feet.

 **Angel Sky (LazyFoxLover)**

"Daddy…Izu…please grant me guidance," Angel said before she noticed that the channel on her television had changed to the emergency broadcast at Alisen Industries, "Huh? What's going on?"

 _~~Kingdom of Staneia~~_

In the snowy plains of Staneia, there stood a lone figure. In this figure's hand was a golden necklace shaped like a heart tied around its neck.

"So…a year has already gone by," The figure said with a male's voice, "Time sure flies fast. Guess it's time to fulfill my promise to you, Mother."

The figure was a male with short, unkempt, black hair and light caramel skin. His eyes were light blue and slightly slanted downwards. On his right eye, he bore a scar that crossed over the eye. Underneath his black hair were black fox ears that stuck out, making this boy a faunus.

He has an athletic build and some muscles underneath his clothing, which consisted of a red hoodie underneath a black cargo vest, a black and red beanie with black fingerless gloves, black cargo pants and black combat boots. His golden necklace accompanies this combination of colors.

 **Jack Starfield (Sync Jack)**

"Hm…seems like my radio's reacting to something," Jack said as he took out a small radio, "Must be some breaking news."

 _~~Kingdom of Staneia~~_

There was a room in a big house filled with punching bags, cooking books, movie dvd's, and a black guitar.

At the moment, a girl was busy punching and kicking away at a punching bag.

The girl had short, cyan blue hair with dark highlights that reach to his neck. Her hairstyle was fitted so that the left side was completely shaved off. Her eyes, although looking as if she hadn't slept a wink in her life, carried an electrical, blue color cold enough to send cold shivers down spines.

Her skin was a dark, tannish, pale brown. It appears to be very rough soft, but her main softness is her waist down and her legs. She has a mesomorphic like build, meaning that she has defined muscles. The details of the muscles are more powerful on her long, slender legs.

She has two tattoos; the one on her left shoulder down to her hand has vines and roses both green and red, and has the world 'Beauty' on it. On her right, she has chains and barbed wire going down with bullet casing that has the word 'Deadly'.

She has a scar on her right arm and left leg, and one across her left eye. Her heart-shaped face has light freckles dotting around her face. Despite not wearing any make up, her face still looked naturally beautiful save only a lightly faded scar on her left cheek.

She is a faunus with average sized horns sticking out of the side of her head. She has small showing of scales on her as well.

She wore a light blue top with gold linings and a dark blue jacket with gold pauldrons over top with black and blue pants that had spikes on the side with electrical markings. She also wore black tights and blue and light blue boots.

 **Lynae Kyanos (Fool Arcana Kaiju)**

"Hrrraaaaagh!" She shouted as she landed a huge kick on the sand back, sending it flying into the wall.

"Are you training again, Lynae?" A man's voice called.

"Whoops! Sorry, Dad~!" Lynae shouted, "It's my last time here, anyway, so you don't have to worry about me messing up the place from now on!"

"That's fine, but once you're finished, could you come down here?" Her father asked, "I have something I want to show you."

"Okay, I'll be right there," Lynae said; however, her attention was caught by her room's television, which was once showing a highly anticipated wrestling match, but is now showing a news report, "What the hell?! I didn't ask you to change the channel! Go back! ….Wait, is that…?"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~The Sokkitia Dynasty~~_

On the rooftop of a building in a city in tall valleys, there were two people sparring with each other. One was an old lady who was sparring with were partner as a young, male faunus.

The young, male faunus was a tall and muscular with a long, white tiger tail with golden stripes, wrapped around his waist as a belt. He has golden tribal tattoos on the left side of his chest and whole left arm. He had more tattoos, these ones being black, made to resemble tiger stripes around his body. The most notable is the one on his left cheek.

His wild hair was long and white, going past the middle of his back. He had amber eyes with slit pupils. His teeth were as sharp as a tiger's with his right fang poking out of his closed mouth and there was a bit of peach fuzz on his chin.

He wore steel armor on his right shoulder, leather and fur gloves on with steel elbow braces on his right arm starting from the waist. On his left side was a leather armband, a steel wristband, and leather shoulder armor. His chest area had steel chest plates with white fur covering his neck and back. The steel armor covered his stomach, hips, and lower back, and armored iron plating covered his trousers. He finishes this up with steel-toad combat boots.

 **Dourado Ouro (Supreme Kai of Booty)**

"Faster!" The old lady shouted as she sped up her attacks.

The male faunus moved faster with the old lady's pace, blocking every single attack until finally he found the opening to deliver a close, palm attack at her chest.

"…Well done, Dourado," The old lady said as they both relaxed their bodies, "That was eight seconds shorter than the time it took your father to parry my attacks. You are now ready," She said as she and Dourado went back inside the house.

"Thank you, Grandmother," Dourado said with a smile, "It's nice to get a compliment on my skills from a renown huntress like you."

"You're likely to face more hardships, my grandson," Dourado's grandmother advised, "Emblem Academy only accepts the best of the best in their ranks, so do not falter in the face of challenge."

"Yes, grandmother," Dourado said, "I will never forget your teachings."

"Good," His grandmother said, "Now could you be a dear and turn on the television? I want to see the next Bingo match."

"Sure," Dourado said with a smile as he picked up the remote and turned on the television, but the channel wasn't on his grandmother's favorite, "Huh? This isn't the Bingo channel."

"…Hm…Alisen Industries…" His grandmother muttered.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~The Sokkitia Dynasty~~_

 _~~En Route to Vastel Kingdom~~_

At an airport, a boy with shoulder-length, slightly spiky, black hair with purple eyes stood alone with his suitcase. He wore a silver t-shirt tucked into black jeans with a combat belt with a weapon holster on the back of the belt, black combat boots, an open blood-red leather long coat with black shoulder pauldrons, the inside of which holds numerous spare magazines for his weapon, which resides in said holster.

 **Seraph Argryos (ShinagamiMaster)**

Seraph looked up at the sky and sighed, "Rayleigh…" He then saw the television for the airport change to the breaking news report on Alisen Industries, "Alisen Industries?! Does that mean…" His attention was glued onto the tv as he listened intently for someone to appear, "Jurabi….!"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~The Igarus Dynasty~~_

A village in the Kingdom of Narcia was recently attacked by Grimm, but fortunately, a strong girl was successful in defeating them.

She had bright orange hair that was thick and messy with a mix of curls and waves kept it in a ponytail with a lilac ribbon. She keeps her fringe on both sides of her face out with the same length as the rest of her hair. She has an olive tan skin with dark freckles, an oval face with soft curves and gentle angles without any sharp features on her face. She has round, dark green eyes, bow-shaped lips, a dimple smile, and a straight nose. She's wide in the shoulders with a rectangular build, not much curve in the waistline, long legs and lithe muscles. Soft around the edges, but that just hides the strength.

She wore a lilac dress that reaches the knee, form fitting around the torso but loose and flowing from the waist down, a jewel neckline with no sleeves. There was a wide, dark, iron grey belt that covers her waist, three straps with silver belt buckles, and the top buckle depicts a waxing moon crescent, the middle a full moon, and the bottom and waning moon crescent. She also wore a lavender colored hooded vest, usually left open, with two dark iron grey lines running down the back, near the middle they run diagonally down outwards, and then run diagonally down inwards, before running down straight again. The parallel lines create a large diamond shape, without either side touching. Lavender running shorts that go to mid-thigh, and a pair of lilac socks that stop just above the knee, dark iron grey ballet flats, and lavender arm warmers that stop just above the elbow. A pair of greaves covering her shins, knee guards, and matching pauldrons over her shoulders, all the same dark iron grey color.

 **Acacia Aurora Woods (Outcast001)**

"We can't thank you enough for saving us from this Grimm, Miss Woods," The village chief said, "How can we ever thank you?"

"No need for thanks," Acacia said, "I did what I believed was right, but now I must go to Vastel Academy. Be sure to take care not to attract Grimm attention and call the Hunter Guild should you need any assistance."

"We'll keep that in mind," The village chief said, "Oh, before you go. It seems that there's an urgent news report being broadcasted," He said as they both turned their attention to the working television that was used for the village.

"Alisen…Industries?" Acacia asked.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~The Igarus Dynasty~~_

In a white-lit room, a girl sat in a meditation stance with her eyes close and her focus honed. A bright aura surrounded her entire body.

The girl looked to be small and petite with a rather narrow bone structure to add. Her body signals that she possesses a more rectangular body shape due to a lack of any major developments that comes with puberty, but she does have a flat abdomen, and toned limbs. Additionally, Guendolen is also quite skinny, thin, and ectomorphic in her body shape and size.

Her face also accentuates her preadolescent appearance with her youthful look and shape; albeit quite thin thanks to the shape of her skull. Her skin tone is reminiscent of porcelain without much signs of ever getting a tan. Her eyes are an illuminating light shade of yellow in a normal position on the face and almond in shape. She also has thin eyebrows but thicker eyelashes; her vision is also unimpaired. She possesses round ears with no evidence of her ever-wearing earrings. Her nose is petite, in a normal position, and has a low nose bridge. Pandering to her youthful appearance, she has rather thin, but pink lips; her smiles are always small for the most part. There are no signs of fat in her cheeks, keeping them straight from her jaw and to her cheekbone; her chin is also short.

She has light silver hair that extends all the way to her hips. Her hairstyle is best summed up as free-flowing, combed down, symmetrical, and with ends parallel to the ground upon her bangs and the remainder of her hair resting on her hips. Her hair is naturally straight, silky in touch, and is thin when it comes to thickness. She also wears a hair clip above the right hemisphere of her scalp that has a red gem attached to it, shaped into a shining small sun. She turns out to be left-handed along with both hands being small and possessing french-tip, short-length nails. Importantly, she always keeps a very feminine and polite posture and walking style to reflect her mostly conservative and traditional lifestyle.

The girl's clothing style fits a person who is always well-clothed and refrains from showing any unnecessary skin. Under her light, clean, and white polo shirt is a long and white trench coat that's all buttoned up and carries multiple yellow linings to outline the coat's structure; it also has metallic yellow buttons to close up her coat. Her trench coat reaches down to her knees and is buttoned up to her shoulders and collarbone. She wears a black and loose skirt that also reaches down to the knees, but seemingly irrelevant like the polo due to her trench coat being the article that would stand out the most. Meanwhile, her hands up to her arms and her feet up to her legs would be protected by white gloves and stockings. She also wears ankle-high boots with a short heel and has a matching white and yellow pallet.

 **Guendolen Pretorius (I'm The Nep)**

Guendolen opened her eyes and stood up, "It is time," She said as she walked out of the room which turned out to be her own room where she sleeps.

She walked into the living room of her house and saw her mother sitting on a pillow on her knees in front of the television screen.

"Ah, Guendolen, finished with your meditation training already?" Guendolen's mother asked.

"Yes, Mother," Guendolen said, "I am finally ready for my challenge: To go to Vastel Academy and restore the Pretorius family honor."

"I'm glad to hear your dedication," Her mother said, "Just like your older sisters."

"I've learned only from the best," Guendolen said, "I won't fail you, nor father, nor our family."

"Good," Her mother said, "Are you going to watch the news with me?"

"The news on Alisen Industries?" Guendolen asked.

"Yes, I've heard there was an incident on the rooftop of the building," Her mother said, "This will be our first time seeing the head leader of the company."

"…I would be lying if I said I wasn't interested…" Guendolen said as she sat down and stared at the screen.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Kingdom of Vulna: Alisen Industries~~_

"And now, Mr. Alisen will be giving his public statement about the events that transpired," Said an Alisen Industries official to the crowd of journalists and news reporters, "Once the conference is over, Mr. Alisen will not be answering any further questions!"

Elise guided Jurabi to the podium and in a good enough range to speak into the microphone.

"Uh…it's been a while since I've been in front of you all so I figured I'd stick to not doing stuff that'll cause my company to go down crashing and burning," Jurabi joked, which made the crowd laugh.

Jurabi then cleared his throat, "There has been speculation that I was involved in the events that occurred in Argyros City Park and on Alisen Industries' rooftop bu—"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Alisen!" Shouted a faunus newswoman, "I don't mean to be rude, but do you honestly believe that that was a bodyguard wearing a Grimm mask with Grimm-like wings and tail, who conveniently was there to put a stop to a Twilight Syndicate attack that this city's secu—"

"I know that it's confusing," Jurabi said, "It's one thing to question the official story and another thing entirely to make wild accusations or insinuate that I am somehow a Grimm, but—"

"I never said that you were a Grimm," The newswoman said.

"You didn't?" Jurabi asked.

"No," She responded.

"Good…because that would be outlandish and odd seeing as how if I am indeed a Grimm I would be attacking all of you in this room," Jurabi said, "Although…I do seem to be the Grimm type. After all…I have this laundry list of character defects and mistakes, both publicly and in my private—"

"Um…Jurabi…" Elise whispered in his ear, "Just go along with the lie, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Jurabi whispered back. He looked back at the crowd and said, "The truth is…"

…

…

…

…

…

…

Jurabi undid the bandages covering his eyes, and then opened his eyes to reveal his identity to all of Vastel.

"I am Ragnarok!"

* * *

 **Therion Arc: Concluded!**

 **Next Up: Vastel Arc**

 **Jurabi: Heeeeeeeelloooooooooo~! This is Jurabi Therion, back with the final chapter of the Therion Arc. Holy…shit! This was a monster of a chapter to finish. Originally it was 27,236 words long, now it's been reduced to 25,622. This is actually the LONGEST I have ever written a chapter since I got into writing. Even more than that one time I wrote with LazyfoxLover on a story and we actually got to 20k words. Well I went and out did that all on my own, and I'm honestly really proud of myself here, because I did it all for free.**

 **And FINALLY after 6 whole months, we FINALLY get to the submitted main character OC's. Took me long enough! Now, I'm sure some of you have noticed the change in mc's. I hate to say this, but I made a major goof with one of the male oc's. because I forgot to count Jurabi as a human, I ended up accepting more human males than needed, so one of the human male oc's, who was originally Ross Hartfore (Deniable0172) had to be replaced by a Jack Starfield (Sync Jack). So I am deeply sorry, Deniable0172. This mess up should not have happened and I'm sorry I had to remove your oc from the mc list.**

 **Speaking of the OC's, how did you like the new characters? I feel like I've done a fine job of introducing them and leaving off bits of their personality and hinting at their stories. I'm actually excited to hear you guys' thoughts on the OC's you didn't make because I think that's the true enjoyment of an SYOC fic.**

 **Moving on, I've read the reviews of the last chapter and most of you are pretty fine with the similarities between Jurabi's character arc and Tony Stark's rise to Ironman. And I understand if some folks were a bit turned off by it expecting something fresh and unique. I can do fresh and unique stuff, guys, but when I need to at least take inspiration from other stories, I will at least put my own imaginative flare in it. I made sure to do that in this chapter so that it won't feel like a copy of the 2nd half of the first Ironman movie. I'll try not to do this sort of thing all the time, but when I do, I ask that you bear with me and let me know if you have any problems.**

 _ **Anyways, guys, I hope you enjoy this 27k chapter! …Please say you did because I spent all night working on the last bits of it and I'm dyin…..:DDDDD**_

 _ **If you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know in the reviews and leave a favorite and a follow and also join me on my own discord server to have a nice chat. Thank you very much for reading. See you next chapter~!**_

 _ **Discord: (h) (t) (t) (p) (s) : / / discord . gg / yds39Vc**_


	8. Vastel Arc Chp 1: First Impressions

_~~Vastel Kingdom~~_

 _~~Present Time~~_

"…then an elite hunter squad came in and arrested me, and now here I am," Jurabi finished his story to the Hunter Council.

The councilmen of all races and kingdoms whispered and muttered to one another after hearing Jurabi's story.

"Order!" Elcrest shouted, slamming his cane onto the ground, creating a shockwave that silenced the room, "We have heard Alisen full story. Now, high councilmen of Vulna, Staneia, Sokkitia, and Igarus, what are your thoughts on this matter?"

"It should be obvious for my kingdom, Your Majesty," Chief Webber was the first person to speak up, "This thing is a walking taboo. Whether it became this due to an accident or not is irrelevant. This is still a Grimm standing right in front of us—a Zenith Grimm, to be more precise. As representative of the kingdom of Staneia, I, Riboku Webber, say we execute it."

"Chief Webber!" Hinata Argyros shouted, "I believe you are forgetting the good deeds Jurabi has done for your kingdom. Not only did he save Renea Town from a Twilight Syndicate attack, but he also destroyed the very rail gun he created and halted all creation of those dangerous weapons."

"And who put my people in harm's way in the first place, Chief Argyros?" Webber asked, "I am fully aware of this thing's actions to save lives in my kingdom; however, it is also responsible for the deaths that occurred beforehand. It may have saved Renea Town, but what of Hellavese?"

"…" Jurabi gritted his teeth when the name of that destroyed town was mentioned.

"Hellavese was a wake-up call for Jurabi," Hinata said, "If he didn't change after seeing the destruction his weapons brought, yes he could be tried as a criminal. However, because Jurabi tried his best to right his wrongs in his own way and actually helped stopped the illegal shipment of his company's weapons to terrorists, I, Chief Argyros, representative of the kingdom of Vulna, believe he deserves a second chance!"

"Of course, Alisen's home kingdom would defend him," Webber scoffed, "The Twilight Syndicates will still find a way to torment my people and all faunus kind even without Alisen Industries' weapons."

"I agree with Chief Webber's words," Spoke the Sokkitia faunus councilman.

"Chief Ouro!" Hinata shouted.

"I cannot abide for anyone who assists the Twilight Syndicates in their campaign to assert human dominance over faunus kind," Chief Ouro said, "Jurabi Alisen is well aware of his crimes and understands that they don't go away just because you fulfill a good deed or two. The souls of the innocent faunus's of Hellavese demand justice, and as such, I, Vesca Ouro, representative of the Sokkitia Dynasty, declares that Jurabi Alisen must face the consequences."

 _"So, the faunus's wish for my death,"_ Jurabi thought, _"I'm not surprised. Deep down, a part of me knows that death is what I deserve."_

"The faunus kingdoms are in favor of punishing Jurabi Alisen while Vulna Kingdom wishes to give him another chance," Elcrest said as he turned to the councilman of Igarus, "What judgment have the people of Igarus decided for Alisen?

"…" The white-haired councilman of Igarus stayed silent as he examined Jurabi from top to bottom.

"Chief Pretorius, I understand that your family—"

"This decision is Chief Pretorius' choice and his alone, Chief Argyros," Elcrest said, "You will not interfere with his judgment."

"…It's a waste," Chief Pretorius said.

"Come again?" Vesca asked.

"You all sit here, speaking about killing this Zenith Grimm," Chief Pretorius began, "But…have you all consider the benefits of keeping it alive?"

"Don't seriously tell us you actually want to keep a Zenith Grimm alive, Chief Pretorius!" Riboku shouted.

"Tell me, Mr. Alisen," Chief Pretorius began, "Is it true that the incident on the rooftop was Gerald Achilles's doing and that you fought alongside Aoife Chandani to stop him?"

"It was my plan to overload the reactor to stop him from potentially killing innocents, yes," Jurabi answered, "Before all of that, I couldn't move my body at all and my heart was at risk of my heart setting on fire due to the fire dust I have in my body. If Miss Chandani hadn't come when she did, I wouldn't be alive today."

"What foolishness," Riboku scoffed, "A human saving a Grimm. To think I would live to hear a story as ludicrous as that."

"One last question, Alisen," Chief Argyros said, "What do you plan on doing now?"

"I don't have a future ahead of me, since I am likely to be executed for my actions," Jurabi said, "…But…if I did have a future beyond this trial…" He looked up at them, "…My desire would be to carry on the torch my father and mother passed to me and protect Vastel and all of her people!"

After Jurabi's declaration, the room became loud from the sounds of councilmen and women discussing amongst themselves.

"A Grimm protecting Vastel? What kind of madness is that?"

"He must be trying to appeal to the high council's wishes. There has to be some ulterior motive."

"But what reason would he have to lie?"

"Don't forget that he allowed the Twilight Syndicates to terrorize Ganvie. He must be trying to run from his crimes like a coward."

"ORDER!" Elcrest shouted, slamming his cane onto the ground, creating a shockwave that silenced the room.

"Your Majesty, I, Griffon Pretorius, representative of the Igarus Dynasty, have come to a decision," Griffon said.

The room then became silent as everyone patiently awaited her judgment.

"…All Grimm have one particular thing in common: Their instincts. Whether it be to kill a human or faunus, or to simply prowl the lands and ruins of Vastel," Griffon explained, "We humans and faunus, on the other hand, possess one thing that Grimm do not: desires—desires to eat, sleep, fall in love, and so on. When I look at you, Jurabi Alisen, I see both of those. Your instincts compelled you to take action after you witnessed the remains of the peaceful Hellavese, and your desire to protect Vastel and her people spurred you on regardless of the obstacles that stood in your way. You are indeed a Grimm…a Grimm that is also a human in spirit," He then stood up from his seat and shouted, "More importantly, there is something about you that I find…intriguing. Jurabi Alisen! The Igarus Dynasty demands that with this one chance we wish to give you that you prove yourself a hunter worthy of protecting Vastel! May the brightness of the Light Guardian guide you."

Once again, the room erupted with the sounds of councilmen and women yelling—faunus's angry at humanity for defending Jurabi while humanity yelling in Jurabi's defense.

"ORDER! ORDER!" Elcrest shouted, once again slamming his cane onto the ground, this time making an ear piercing shockwave that engulfed the yelling noises in the room, "The kingdom's have all come to a decisions and now they are split evenly," He said before he stood up and began walking towards Jurabi, "As such, the decision will now fall upon me, the King of Vastel."

 _"This is it,"_ Jurabi thought, _"The moment of truth."_

"Tell me, Alisen," Elcrest began, looking straight into Jurabi's Grimm eyes, "What fate do you believe you deserve."

"…Whatever fate serves in Vastel's best interest," Jurabi said, "If I am to die here, so be it; however, if Vastel wishes to grant me one last chance, I will pour my whole being and strength into proving myself her protector."

"…An admirable answer," Elcrest said, "It is said that those who survive against a Zenith Grimm would mean that you had the Guardians of Vastel watching over you. In your case, it might be something more."

"Something more?" Jurabi asked.

"Your father was tasked with creating a weapon capable of killing Zenith Grimm when no other weapon could," Elcrest said, "But you being in contact with Project Therion and turning into an Zenith Grimm cannot be mere coincidence," He then turned towards the doors to the council room and shouted, "Allow Professor Chandani in at once!"

"What?!" Jurabi asked as he turned around to see the doors open and Aoife walk through them.

"My, you've put me through quite the trouble, Jurabi," Aoife said, "I went through a lot to make sure the fact that you are a Grimm remained secret, but then you go and announce it to the whole world like it's nothing."

"So, it was you who wrote that fabricated story, Miss Chandani," Jurabi said.

"And I stayed up all night making it too," Aoife said, crying crocodile tears.

"Uh…s-sorry…" Jurabi said, scratching his head.

"It's fine," Aoife said as her crying face was quickly replaced with her signature smiling one, "I had already planned ahead in case you recklessly announced the truth to everyone, right Your Majesty?"

"That is correct," Elcrest said, "Jurabi Alisen, I am sure you are well aware of the fact that an existence like yours was said, time and time again, to be impossible; however, you've managed to prove every scientist wrong and went beyond that. You have managed to not only survive becoming a Zenith Grimm with your humanity barely intact, but you've also utilized a good portion of Ragnarök's power. People like you who have committed such taboo along with the crimes of aiding in faunus slaughter are supposed to be sent to life in prison…however, Aoife Chandani showed me an excellent proposition."

"And what kind of proposition is that?" Jurabi asked.

"A chance to redeem yourself, of course," Elcrest said, "But only by accomplishing four, near impossible tasks."

Jurabi's eyes widened, "Wait, you don't mean…!"

"Jurabi Alisen, as King of Vastel, I will offer you this one chance to atone for your crimes…by using your powers as a Zenith Grimm to slay the seven Zenith Grimm that have plagued Vastel for seven hundred years: Lavetia, Zerena, Momasu, Istana, Solaris, Goral, and Ragnarok!"

The room erupted from different emotions from the different kingdoms

"One boy against seven Zenith Grimm?!

"Has His Highness gone mad?! Not even eighty elite huntsmen could take down one Zenith Grimm! How is this teenager going to accomplish a feat such as that against all seven?"

"Is this a death sentence disguised as a mercy?"

"But…what if he actually pulls it off?"

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, this is madness!" Riboku shouted, gaining everyone's attention, "You expect my proud kingdom of Ganvie to accept help from a lowly human-turned-monster; let alone the one responsible for the deaths of so many of our people?!"

"Calm yourself, Chief Webber," Hinata advised, "His Majesty wouldn't offer Alisen a second chance if what I said about him wasn't true."

"Chief Argyros is right," Elcrest said, "Even if you all don't want to admit it, Vastel needs the strength of a Zenith Grimm on her side, and the only person who has that power is Jurabi! You all must see that."

"I do not see anything good coming from relying on the powers of Grimm," Vesca said, "I've said this when the council proposed Nitorin Alisen to create Project Alisen and look what that taboo of a project created. Your kingdom of Vulna, Chief Argyros, thrives only off of obtaining power regardless of consequences, as does the rest of humanity."

That was when Riboku stood up and sent a glare at Jurabi, "Staneia will never accept help from a Grimm! We will deal with our Zenith Grimm on our own. If you set foot into our kingdom again, Alisen, you will be executed on the spot!" He shouted before he and his fellow council faunus left the room.

Then Vesca stood up as well, "With all due respect, Your Majesty, I can't agree with this plan of yours. There is no telling if or when Alisen will turn on us. To rely on a double-edged sword is to accept the chance of failure along with the chance of success. The Sokkitia Dynasty is a kingdom of well-defined blades and inner focus. A weapon that can turn on its master is not welcomed neither in our culture nor in our presence. Alisen, take this as a warning and do not dare set foot in our kingdom," He said before he also left with his council faunus.

"Your Majesty, are you not going to stop them?" Hinata asked.

"No," Elcrest said, "They are well within their right to be angry at my decision. I doubt they will ever forget Hellavese. Even if their anger is justified, they will come to accept the truth soon enough. The Zenith Grimm, the Twilight Syndicates, and the Eclipse must be stopped no matter the cost. This meeting has been adjured. Bring Jurabi and Aoife to my throne room."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Vastel Throne Room~~_

"Ugh, I hate doing those council meetings," Elcrest groaned as he sat on his throne.

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, you could have someone else take your place to avoid them," Aoife said.

"This was one the court sessions that I couldn't miss," Elcrest said turning to Jurabi, "What with a Zenith Grimm present."

Jurabi didn't know what to say at the moment. He was in the presence of the Vastel King, a person of higher authority than even he and his parents combined.

"You look nervous," Elcrest said, "Please, relax. I may have given off an intimidating aura, but someone had to in order to make sure those idiots didn't start a war with their racial comments at each other."

"O-oh, thank you, Your Majesty," Jurabi said.

"I wouldn't be so thankful prematurely, boy," Elcrest said as he stood up, "So, do you accept my offer of redemption? Be warned: this will not be an easy task, especially now that Sokkitia and Staneia have closed their borders to you."

"…I'll accept the mission, Your Majesty," Jurabi said, "My father wanted me to protect Vastel and my mother gave her life to save me. To turn back now and die would make their sacrifices go in vain."

"That's good to hear," Elcrest said, "Now, there is still more to your task than simply eliminating the Zenith Grimm, Alisen. Miss Chandani, here, has more details."

"Yes, indeed," Aoife said, "Even though you are a Zenith Grimm, Jurabi, you seem to only possess a portion of Ragnarök's power."

"I do?" Jurabi asked.

"I know because I fought the beast alongside your mother," Aoife said, "I do not know why you only have a portion of the Zenith Grimm's power, but I do know that you alone will not be enough to take down the other three. Not to mention that the Twilight Syndicates and the Eclipse each have four powerful commanders leading them. These commanders are said to be former elite hunters turned rogue."

"So, they're strong and we shouldn't underestimate them," Jurabi said.

"Correct," Aoife said, "To that end, you will need strong comrades, proper training, and an overall better social life. That is why I recommended to His Majesty that we send you to Vastel Academy."

"Wait…what?!" Jurabi shouted, "Vastel Academy?!"

"That's right," Aoife said, "The Fall semester will start soon, so the sooner you get packed once you get home, the better~!"

"B-But wait!" Jurabi shouted, "Won't the students feel like they're in danger?! I am a Grimm, after all!"

"Yes, we know," Elcrest said before he pointed at Jurabi's restraints, "That is why you'll be attending classes with those restraints on you at all times."

"And you'll also be placed in a special room designed to keep special Grimm like you under surveillance," Aoife said, "So don't worry about being a danger to the others."

"Still…won't the students be angry with me around?" Jurabi asked, "They'll hate me and wish for me to be dead."

"And that is what your first challenge will be, Alisen," Elcrest said.

"My first challenge?" Jurabi asked.

"You wish to prove yourself worthy of being Vastel's protector, yes," Elcrest asked, "Then the first step would be to prove yourself to the people you will fight alongside with in pursuit of that goal. They will hate you, but it will be up to you to gain their trust."

"…Gain their trust…" Jurabi said to himself.

"Should anyone have problems with this decision, they will have to make their complaints to me," Elcrest said, "You will be faced with excruciating hate from other people—faunus in particular. Do you wish to back out now?"

"No," Jurabi said, "I've made my choice to do this. Since I'll be a newbie, I'll have to fight and prove myself to everyone by the time this semester ends!"

"What an excellent answer," Elcrest said, "I look forward to see if you can live up to my expectations."

"I'll escort you back home, Jurabi," Aoife said, "Your sister is probably worried sick about you."

"Oh yeah, that's right," Jurabi said.

"Before you go, Jurabi, take this," Elcrest said as he handed Jurabi a scrolled up.

"A letter?" Jurabi asked.

"Yes, I am not sure where it came from, but it is a letter for you and your sister alone," Elcrest said, "I swear on my name that I did not read its contents."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Jurabi said as he examined the letter, "I'll be taking my leave."

"May luck favor you, Jurabi Alisen," Elcrest said.

As Jurabi and Aoife move to leave the chamber, Jurabi let out a sigh, "I bet Elise is furious at me for what I did. I'll be lucky if I get off with a slap in the face."

"A slap? No, your sister isn't like that," Aoife said.

"Really?" Jurabi asked.

"A slap is too cowardly. I bet she's going to either punch you in the face or drop kicks you in the back of your head!" Aoife said.

"I hope it's neither of those," Jurabi said.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

"Chief Pretorius!" Shouted Riboku as he angrily walked towards Griffon in his office.

"Ah, Chief Webber," Griffon said, "To what do I owe this encounter. I hope I have not caused any unfortunate blood to boil between us."

"What is the meaning of your choice to side with a Zenith Grimm?" Riboku said, "Never in the history of the Pretorius family have they ever allowed such creatures to live amongst our society, much less a human who has committed the taboo of turning himself into one. Do you not have any regrets of being the first to violate the tradition your family has had for centuries?"

"Heheh, I believe you need to relax, Chief Webber," Griffon said, "Do not misunderstand me. My bloodline has forever resented the Grimm purely because they are the creations of the weak-willed Guardians."

"That religious nonsense again?" Riboku asked with a scoff, "Your family needs to catch up to the times. It has been proven time and again that the Guardians never existed."

"I am well aware of the world's view on the Guardians," Griffon said, "They have all been but forgotten and the Grimm are simple manifestations of negative energies that negative human emotions carry, which we call Dark Atoms. However, Chief Webber, you must understand that my family and I will continue to believe in the Light Guardian as well as the mistake the other foolish Guardians brought upon this world."

"Believing in a fairy tale is one thing, but if that fairy tale was a factor in your decision—"

"It was not that alone that caused me to make the decision to spare Mr. Alisen's life," Griffon interrupted.

"It wasn't?" Webber asked.

"In fact, I want that boy dead more than anyone else on the council," Griffon said, "However, there is something about that boy that I found…familiar."

"Familiar?" Webber asked, "For love of Vastel talk in a language a human can understand."

"In that moment when his life was in my hands, my blood wanted him dead," Griffon explained, "Yet I chose not to let him die, because I didn't know why my blood wanted him dead. There is something about that boy we do not know, and I intend to find out what that is, regardless of how the world feels."

"What nonsense!" Riboku shouted, "You put all of Vastel at risk because you don't know why you wanted a Grimm dead?!"

"…Yes, and I will again and again," Griffon said, "Rest assured that Mr. Alisen is not getting off easily. I made sure to recommend Mr. Alisen be sent to Vastel Academy. There, my eyes and ears will always be on him. Every word, move, and action he does, I will know."

"Your eyes and ears?" Riboku asked.

"That is all I will say on the matter," Griffon said, "Now if you are done here, I would like to ask you to leave. I have some…meetings to attend to in Vastel Academy."

Riboku growled before he nodded and left Griffon's office, _"Tch, humans and their obsession with life. They're all cowards in the face of death, whether it be them or a fellow human."_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~New Alisen Residence~~_

 _~~The Next Day~~_

Jurabi and Aoife arrived back at the Alisen's new home in the dead of night.

"I'm back!" Jurabi shouted.

Waiting for him was Elise sitting at the couch in anxiety until she laid eyes on Jurabi.

"JURABI!" Elise shouted as she ran towards her little brother and hugged him.

"Whoa! Easy, Elise!" Jurabi shouted, "You nearly—"

"How could you do something that stupid, you moron?!" Elise shouted as she slapped Jurabi on his cheek.

"OWW!" Jurabi screamed, "Didn't I already tell you that I can still feel pain?!"

"Dang it!" Aoife shouted, putting away her camera, "I had my camera ready for the drop kick…"

"And I'm telling you that pain is nothing compared to the worry you put me through!" Elise shouted, "All you had to do was go along with the lie, but no! You had to go and announce to the hold damn world that you're a fucking ZENITH GRIMM! Who knows how many secret organizations or government officials will be after you now! YOU ARE SUCH A PAIN, YOU KNOW THAT?!"

"Okay….first off, calm down with the yelling," Jurabi said, rubbing his ears, "You could really hurt your vocal cords. Second, I know I might have done something a little reckless—"

"Pft, a little?"

"—but I managed to get something good out of this," Jurabi said.

"Yeah, like what?" Elise asked.

Jurabi explained to everyone what happened at Hunter Tower and the chance at redemption King Elcrest offered him.

"Wait…WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Elise screamed, "You're going fight the other seven Zenith Grimm?! All while fighting the Eclipse and Twilight Syndicate?!"

"And all while attending Vastel Academy!" Aoife completed in excitement.

"You're not helping, Miss Chandani!" Elise shouted.

"That's right," Aoife said with a cheer, "Little Jubi here—"

"The fuck did you just call me?" Jurabi asked.

"—will be learning how to utilize his Grimm powers for the purpose of protecting Vastel," Aoife finished, "As we already explained, the only way that Jubi can redeem himself of all the crimes that were committed by his company is for him to kill the Zenith Grimm."

"No!" Elise shouted, slamming her hands on the desk, "I won't let you fight those things, Jurabi!"

"I'm sorry, Elise, but I already made my decision," Jurabi said, "Someone has to put an end to those beasts. Besides, I was going to be executed if I refused."

"Do you even realize how strong those Grimm are?! How many hunter's they've killed and how intelligent they are?!" Elise asked, "You'll die before so much as getting a hit in!"

"Even so, I can't just sit here with this power and do nothing with it," Jurabi said, "Now that I have the powers of a Zenith Grimm, who else would be better suited for the job?!"

"We lost our parents, Jurabi! Do you want me to lose you too?!" Elise shouted, grabbing Jurabi's shoulders and shaking them.

"…" Jurabi's mouth gaped open. He remembers the time when he was told his mother went missing and the day when he concluded she had died. He looked down at the floor away from Elise's eyes.

"I…I don't…want to go through that pain again," Elise said, "You're all I have left."

"…I know that, Elise," Jurabi said, "If I had lost you that night too, I probably would have turned into an insane man well beyond the point of redemption. Mom and Dad gave up their lives for the two of us to survive and I am grateful, but what kind of son would I be if I didn't make anything of their sacrifice?"

"Just living a happy life is enough," Elise said.

"But that's the thing, Elise," Jurabi said, shaking his head, "I can't live a happy life even if I wanted to. I'm a monster now, and as such I should be nothing more than a weapon for humanity. I'm the only person who survived becoming a Zenith Grimm, and so I need to make Vastel a safer place. That's what our parents strived to do and so I will do the same."

"Jurabi, that's not…" Elise couldn't find the words to use at this moment. She sighed, "Alright, you win. However!" She shouted as she gave Jurabi a stern glare, "You better not do anything reckless, got it! And make sure to let me know if you feel anything weird. Being a Zenith Grimm might have some bad side effects."

"Okay, I already knew that, but tha—"

"And also, don't go picking fights with students or acting all shy either," Elise said, "I want you social standing in Vastel Academy to be near perfect by graduation."

"U-um…sure…?" Jurabi said, uncertainty ringing in his tone.

"And another thing, make sure you're eating proper food like your daily batch of spinach," Elise said.

"Uuuuak! You know I hate spinach, Big Sis!" Jurabi shouted.

"That shouldn't be a problem now that you're a Grimm! And don't take that attitude with me, young man!" Elise shouted.

"Attitude?! I'm only like this because you nag me all the time! How is this argument my fault?!" Jurabi shouted.

"Heheh, ah youth," Aoife said as she began to leave, "Well I'll be sure to get out of both your hairs. I've already booked our travel to Vastel so meet me at the airport with your belongings tomorrow morning."

"Of course," Jurabi said.

"Oh, and don't forget to read that letter too," Aoife said as she left the house.

"Letter?" Elise asked.

"Yes, it's from the King," Jurabi said, taking out the letter, "Well, not form the King exactly. It was given to the king by someone not even he knew, but it's for us."

"Both of us?" Elise asked as Jurabi nodded, "Well, let's see what it is."

"I swear, if this is some kind of advertisement for a car, I'll be pissed," Jurabi said as he opened the letter and began reading.

 _Dear Jurabi, Elise,_

 _I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you who I am. All I ask is for you to trust what I am about to write on this letter. Do not tell anyone about this. Not even your close friends and especially not the officials at Vastel Academy._

 _For the past ten years, I have been traveling Vastel to uncover its secrets so far, I've only had minor progress and am waiting for any rumors that could help me. There is one thing you both must know: The truth of your lineage._

"Lineage?" Jurabi asked.

"Who is this?" Elise asked, "How do they even know our names?"

"No idea," Jurabi said as he continued.

 _Twenty years ago, your father met your mother, Dana Alisen. At the time, your mother had no memories aside from her first name. However, your mother did indeed have a last name. It is a bloodline that was lost to time with no explanation as to why it vanished, but you two, Jurabi, Elise, have that blood. You both must not tell anyone about this, less you paint a target on yourselves. Your mother's true last name was Therion._

"Therion?!" Elise asked.

"The followers of the Dark Guardian," Jurabi said, "But I thought all of that was a fairy tale. It has to be."

 _I apologize again for not being able to introduce myself to either of you, but I will send another letter to you both in the future should I find anything of note. Please keep everything you read in this letter a secret, and watch yourselves._

 _~ 41141_

"41141?" Jurabi asked.

"Is that a callsign or something?" Elise asked.

"I can't really tell," Jurabi said, "Should we even trust this? Something about this is rubbing me the wrong way."

"Like what?" Elise asked.

"First off, how does this person know our mother's true last name if even she didn't know?" Jurabi asked, "And how does this person know that our mother had children?"

"That is a good point," Elise said, "This person seems to know our mother too well, but I can't think of anyone who does aside from Miss Chandani."

"But she couldn't have written the letter," Jurabi said, "Her hand-writing is too child-like and easy to recognize."

"Then who could it have been?" Elise asked.

Jurabi stayed silent for a moment before he said, "I don't think it matters. Let's just take this letter at face value and assume we are Therions, that doesn't explain why this person told us this. You'd think this person would keep this to themselves."

"It is strange," Elise said, "Should we just ignore it instead?"

"No, I'll keep this letter. If they send another to me, I'll let you know," Jurabi said, "You be sure to do the same if they send it to you."

"Okay I will," Elise said.

"Anyways, I need to pack," Jurabi said, "Then we can have that chicken you've been craving."

"Sweet! I'm starving," Elise said, drooling.

"If a single drop of that saliva of yours hits the floor, you're cleaning it up," Jurabi said as he walked off to his room.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Unknown Location~~_

 _"I am Ragnarok,"_ Jurabi said on a television screen.

 _"And that is the headline of today's breaking news,"_ A news reporter said, _"Following Jurabi Alisen's statement, a team of elite hunters arrived at Alisen Industries and placed Alisen under arrest. Questions are now circulating as to what fate Alisen Industries has now that their head leader no longer wishes to continue working with the industry."_

Liviera stared at the television screen before looking down towards a person sitting in a chair with its back towards her.

"How interesting…" A male voice said.

"It is surprising to see Jurabi change like this," Liviera said, "I had heard rumors that he had gone crazy with revenge, but here he is revealing his identity to the world. What will be our next move, Deathwatch?"

"I know what our next move will be, but for now let us wait for the other commanders to return," Deathwatch said, "I have heard Kamolo found something interesting in Igarus."

"Something interesting?" Liviera asked.

"Even I am unsure what that could be, but I am placing my bets that it has something to do with Jurabi Alisen's newly discovered power," Deathwatch asked, "I believe Jurabi revealing his identity like this and this discovery is no mere coincidence."

"You mean…it's possible?" Liviera asked.

"I think so," Deathwatch said, "And I have a feeling the leader of the Twilight Syndicates think this as well."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Unknown Location~~_

"So…Jurabi Alisen has ceased operation with the Twilight Syndicate," Said a female sitting in a chair with four other people, two men and two women.

"This is all that stupid Gerald's fault!" Shouted one of the women, "If he had remained in his place, Alisen would not have realized the manipulation placed upon him."

"And now, he is after our very heads because Gerald played a hand in the death of Nitorin Alisen," Said a calculating male's voice, "The Eclipse played their cards well."

"It's of no concern," Said the female at the center, "Gerald stepping out of line was actually a blessing in disguise."

"A blessing?" Asked another male, "Forgive me for being blunt, but what do you mean by that….Madam Marina?"

"Hmhm, my inside source already informed me that the kingdom of Staneia and Sokkitia have closed their borders to Jurabi Alisen," The female named Marina answered, "No doubt that their actions caused a rift to form between humanity and faunus. It would be a shame if someone were too…widen that rift."

"Ah, you're referring to me, Madam?" Said a light blue haired woman, "I've got that all covered. Even if the public finds out about my secret, the damage will already be done."

"Good, now all we need do is wait for the right time," Madam Marina said, "The foolish Eclipse can play whatever Grimm hunt they desire. The ones who wait always have the better vantage point to strike."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Vulna Kingdom: Argyros City~~_

"Are you all set, Jurabi?" Elise asked, looking at the luggage Jurabi has.

"I am," Jurabi said, "To be honest, I don't know what it will be like in Vastel Academy. It was the place Mom learned to be a hunter, after all…She never wanted me to become one."

"…Jurabi…don't beat yourself over what happened, okay?" Elise asked.

"…Am I that easy to read?" Jurabi asked.

"Yes," Elise said.

"You've really changed, Big Sis," Jurabi said, "I remember when we used to hate each other's guts all the time."

"I've never hated you, you know," Elise said.

"Really now?" Jurabi asked, "I was about to say the same thing."

"Ahehehe, all those years of bantering and hating each other and we ended up like this," Elise said with a smile.

"Comes with growing up," Jurabi said, "Thanks, Elise, for being my sister."

"And thank you, for being my little brother," Elise said as she gave his little brother a hug. She knew that Jurabi was unable to act upon the hug, but she knew that deep down he wanted to. She let go of Jurabi and smiled, "Well, off you go. Have fun~!"

The siblings parted ways.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Vulna Airport~~_

Jurabi arrived at the Vulna Airport where Aoife was waiting for him wearing sunglasses to conceal his identity. Well, waiting for him by sleeping on a chair, snoring loudly.

"…Ahem!" Jurabi cleared his throat loudly, causing Aoife to jumped up.

"Ah!" Aoife shrieked, "Oh, Jubi! It's you. Don't scare me like that. You know how sensitive I am to loud noises."

"I'm pretty sure you've endured worse, Miss Chandani," Jurabi said, shaking his head, "And don't call me that. It's Jurabi."

"I know, silly little Jubi, but I can't resist giving a scary Grimm like you a cute nickname," Aoife said, "Think of it as a clever way to humanize you in the eyes of others."

"Pretty sure that's only going to make things worse," Jurabi said as he looked around at the crowd of people also heading to take their seats for the air flight to Vastel Kingdom, "Is it really going to be okay for me to be in the same airship as these people?"

"Oh, you won't be in the same airship as them," Aoife said, gesturing him to follow, "We're taking a private airship that His Majesty himself authorized."

"Won't that look suspicious?" Jurabi asked, "This won't involve stuffing me inside a crate, will it?"

"Not in the slightest," Aoife said, "I've known you since you were little. I trust you enough to go one ride to Vastel without going on a Grimm rampage."

"Most would say you are being too trusting," Jurabi said.

"However, when we arrive, you'll be placed under extreme surveillance," Aoife said before she slowly took out a red, human sized collar, "And…you'll be required to wear this."

One look at the collar is enough to tell Jurabi what it was, "A Dark Atom Inhibitor. My father invented those. They're used to keep captured Grimm under control for study or material extraction, sealing away some of their dangerous powers. So…that is for me?"

"…Yes," Aoife said, "It's the kind with the built-in shock function. On one button press, you will receive a heavy shock, the second will paralyze you…and the third…"

"Will kill me," Jurabi finished, "I know that. If you can't control a monster, better to get rid of it."

"Jurabi, I tried my best to not have you wear this, but the Hunter Council wouldn't have it," Aoife said, "Letting you live must have caused a major public uproar, so they opted to keep you on a leash…literally. It's for the safety of the people around you."

"I'm grateful you did that for me, Miss Chandani, but I'll be okay," Jurabi said, "If they want to control me, then so be it. I am what I am, and I can't change that."

"Jurabi…" Aoife whispered.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Jurabi said, "Go right ahead."

It didn't take Aoife long to put the inhibitor around Jurabi's neck.

Jurabi felt light headed after the collar connected with his body, "Ugh, Dad sure knew what he was doing when he made these…"

"I'm sorry," Aoife said.

"Don't be," Jurabi said, "I'll get used to it. Let's head on to Vastel Academy."

And so, the two boarded their private airship and headed to Vastel Kingdom.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~One Day Later~~_

 _~~Vastel Kingdom: Vastel Academy Entrance~~_

On the next day, the two arrived at Vastel Academy's entrance, where they saw several soon-to-be and returning students making their way in.

"This is a big academy," Jurabi said.

"You're surprised?" Aoife asked as she led Jurabi through the entrance, "Vastel Academy is not just a simple academy. It's also the heart of Vastel, Guardian Castle."

"A castle?" Jurabi asked, noticing how the academy is surprisingly similar to a castle by appearance.

"An ancient castle, in fact," Aoife said, "They say that this castle was the Guardians gift to humanity after they had finished creating the world, hence why it has always been Vastel's capital for the past seven hundred years."

"But aren't the Guardians proven to have never existed?" Jurabi asked, "The scientists discovered that the Grimm were made of Dark Atoms, a substance that was not mentioned in the Guardian legends."

"That is true," Aoife said, "The Dark Atoms being the substance that make up the Grimm's bodies does go against everything the legends were built on. But to some people, especially religious ones, choose to keep their faith regardless of the facts."

"That's the power of religion," Jurabi said as he noticed human students speaking with faunus students, "So this academy accepts people of any race?"

"You got that right," Aoife said, "Vastel is a neutral kingdom when it comes to the racial feud between humans and faunus. Whenever there's an argument between the two, our kingdom is there to mediate between the two. It's tough work but anything to prevent another war."

"Another war?" Jurabi asked.

Aoife stopped in her tracks for a moment before she said, "Ah, here's the elevator," She said as both of them entered. She first pressed the button to take them to the third floor, then she pressed the highest one: seven, "The elevator will take you to the top floor, the office area. There, you will meet the director of this academy."

"You won't be coming with me?" Jurabi asked.

"Unfortunately, I need to head back to my office," Aoife said, "But once you're done, come see me. It will be in Room 35 on the third floor. Be sure to mind your manners to the director~!" She said as the elevator arrived at the third floor and she immediately skipped away.

"…What a weird friend you had, Mom," Jurabi muttered to himself as the elevator closed.

 _~~Vastel Academy: Seventh Floor~~_

On his way to the office, Jurabi happened upon a spot that had a good view of the city before him with handrails on the sides. The memory of her speaking about this spot rushed into his mind.

 _Wow…it's so pretty," Jurabi said, in complete awe at the beauty of his home with the clear blue skies._

 _"It is," Dana said, leaning against the handrail, "When I was a teenager attending Vastel Academy, there was this amazing spot I used to go to all the time. Whenever classes were over, my team and I would have lunch at that spot to watch a wonder view like this one."_

Jurabi placed his hands on the rails just as his mother did and looked out at the beautiful view the spot offered, "Watch me, Mom. I will make you proud."

After finishing at the spot, Jurabi had arrived at the director's office. When he opened the door, he bumped into a girl with white hair, Guendolen.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jurabi said to her.

"Oh, you're…" Guendolen said once she laid eyes on Jurabi.

"I didn't know someone else was seeing the director today," Jurabi said, "I apologize if I was interrupting something important."

"No, I had just finished speaking with the director," Guendolen said, "He'll be ready to see you shortly."

"Thanks, I'm Jurabi Alisen, I'm sure you've heard of me," Jurabi said.

"Indeed, I have," Guendolen said, "I saw your recent press conference. Allow me to speak bluntly, but that was reckless of you; especially if you acted upon instincts, Alisen."

"I know," Jurabi said, "But I felt that was the right thing to do at the time, so I don't mind the criticism. So, do you have a name?"

"Guendolen Pretorius," Guendolen said, "Third child of the Pretorius family."

"Pretorius?" Jurabi asked before he felt something ping in his head. The image of the silver eyed woman from his dreams flashed through his head as Jurabi lost his footing for a second.

"Alisen? Are you feeling well?" Guendolen asked.

"That woman again…" He muttered before he answered, "Ugh…no…Must have been this inhibitor collar of mine. I think the feeling is going away now."

"You should see a doctor as soon as possible," Guendolen said, "Wouldn't do to have you collapse on your first day."

"I'll keep that in mind," Jurabi said, "It was nice meeting you, Guendolen."

"Feeling is mutual," Guendolen said as she turned to leave. As she was leaving, she looked back again, "It's one thing to watch him on the television, but he's far different in person. Just as father told me."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Director's Office~~_

After Jurabi knocked on the door, he was allowed into the director's office. Inside, he found himself standing across to men, one of them was sitting at his desk.

The man sitting at his desk was a brown-haired man wearing a rain jacket over a white dress shirt with a red striped tie and dark blue dress pants.

Next to him was another man with long, silver hair and brown eyes wearing a black cloak with large sleeves.

"Thank you for your patience, Jurabi," The brown-haired man said, "I trust that I did not keep you waiting for long."

"No, not at all," Jurabi said.

"My name is Farendel von Mordrell, but you will refer to me as Director Mordrell," Farendel said.

"Yes, Director," Jurabi said.

"I would like you to meet my advisor, Doran Sarian," Farendel said.

"Hm, so you're the Alisen that I've been informed about," The man named Doran said.

"Yes, I am," Jurabi said, "I'm sorry if my eyes are unsettling."

"Rest assured, Jurabi, that I've discussed things with Doran and the professors of our academy about your presence here," Farendel said, "Though some of them are reluctant, they have agreed to allow a Grimm into our esteemed halls."

"That's good to hear, at least," Jurabi said, "So, was there a particular reason why you summoned me here before the opening ceremony?"

"You are correct," Farendel said, "Given that you are a Zenith Grimm, there are certain rules that you need to adhere to, as ordered by the High Council and His Majesty."

"Failure to comply with these rules will result in immediate third shock," Doran said, "I assume that Miss Chandani has explained the function of that inhibitor around your neck?"

"I was aware of its function before she told me," Jurabi said.

"Suffice to say, you are walking on thin ice, Mr. Alisen," Doran said.

"Already?" Jurabi asked, shaking his head.

"There is one important thing you must keep in mind as you learn in Vastel Academy," Farendel said, "You are not allowed to attack students for any reason…even if they attack you."

"Even though the professors and staff have agreed to allow you to this school, the students will likely not be okay with our decision," Doran said, "The staff will do their best to make students understand that you are not to be harmed, but should they ignore us and attack you, you are not allowed to attack back. If word gets out that a Grimm that we allowed into our school attacked one of our students…"

"In other words, your reputation is at stake here," Jurabi said.

"That's not what we mean," Farendel said, "Like I said before, failure to comply with the rules set by the council will result in your execution. We'll do all we can to make sure you are safe here, but you must avoid improper conduct."

"I understand," Jurabi said.

"In that case, we will now assign you to your class," Doran said.

"Already?" Jurabi asked, "Isn't there supposed to be some entry exam or such?"

"That is true," Farendel said, "Usually, new hunters would need to pass an entry exam that determines the classes they take…however…it seems you have friends in high places, Mr. Alisen. You have been recommended to be a part of one of the elite classes in the academy."

"Wait?! I am?! Me?!" Jurabi asked.

"Judging from your surprised reaction, it's safe to assume you had no knowledge of this," Doran said, "His Majesty also accepted this recommendation and as such we must do the same. You will be assigned to Miss Chandani's class."

"I see…" Jurabi said.

"For the time being, I suggest you talk with Miss Chandani for more information," Doran said, "She should be in her office on the third floor."

"Got it," Jurabi said.

"That is all for now," Farendel said, "Thank you for your time, Jurabi."

After Jurabi left the office, Doran turned to Farendel.

"With all due respect, Director, have you no intention of changing your mind?" He asked, "Allowing a stranger—a Grimm no less!—into our academy is—"

"His Majesty and I have already made our decision, Doran," Farendel said, "I am aware that worrying is what your job as my advisor urges you to do, but there is truly no need. That "Grimm" is Dana Alisen's flesh and blood, after all."

"I can't say that's all too comforting," Doran said, "How trustworthy was this Dana character? Was she not the one who brought her team on an unauthorized suicide mission against a Zenith Grimm, resulting in the death one of her teammates? And I would like to remind you that the daughter of the Pretorius family is here as well. If this Zenith Grimm proves to be a threat to her and her family hears about it…I beg of you, Director…please consider whether this is an unnecessary risk."

"Doran, Jurabi has my trust," Farendel said, "Let that be enough for you as well. More importantly, I have received a report from Rosela. I am increasingly concerned about suspicious movement around the borders of Vulna I believe it is connected to our suspicious individual. We cannot ignore those who harbor ill will towards Vastel, especially if they are frequenting this academy."

"Yes, that matter is of great importance as well," Doran said, "I shall continue my investigation. Director…for now, I will have faith that you are placing your trust with the utmost care. I pray that nothing occurs to shake that confidence."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Aoife Chandani's Office~~_

"Miss Chandani?" Jurabi asked as he entered the office only to find Aoife sleeping with a magazine covering her face.

"Ten more minutes…" Aoife said.

"This again?" Jurabi asked before he shouted, "Miss Chandani!"

"Ah!" Aoife screamed as she woke up with a sudden jump. She looked at Jurabi and calmed down," Oh, it's you Jubi!"

"I told you not to call me that," Jurabi groaned.

"Teehee, sorry," Aoife said, "So, I'm assuming you're here because the director told you about your assigned class. Are you excited to be in the class of Yours Truly?!"

"I am…even though I can't show it," Jurabi said.

"Come on, a smile or two wouldn't hurt, Jubi," Aoife said.

"…You know that I…"

"Of course, I do, but it was worth a shot," Aoife said, "Now, you want to know about the classmates who will be learning alongside you in my elite class, correct?"

"Yes, I do," Jurabi said.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Classroom B-8~~_

Guendolen was the first to arrive at the classroom she was assigned to—Aoife's class.

"Hm, seems that I am early as usual," Guendolen said.

 _"Guendolen is the third and youngest daughter of the Pretorius family," Aoife said, "For our academy to receive a member of that esteemed family is a rarity since they have been known to only teach their kids within their own home. As a result, not much is known about Guendolen aside from her extremely high entrance exam scores."_

Then Dourado entered the classroom and saw Guendolen, "Excuse me, is this Professor Chandani's class?"

"Yes, it is," Guendolen said.

"Ah, thank you," Dourado said, "I was a little afraid that I might get the classes mixed up on my first day. My name is Dourado Ouro. It's a pleasure to meet you."

 _"Dourado is the son and grandson of two renown hunters who once lived in the Sokkitia Dynasty," Aoife said, "But I hear his father died in a tragic accident, but his grandmother, had done well to teach him everything about being a hunter and inspired his passion to learn here at the academy. However, despite these teachings it seems his pacifism and refusal to hurt others puts him at a bit of a disadvantage, but you'll never find a kinder faunus than Dourado."_

"Guendolen Pretorius," Guendolen said.

"Ah, so this is classroom B-8," Lynae said as she walked into the classroom, "Good thing I didn't get lost this time."

"Are you a student of this class too?" Dourado said.

"Absolutely," Lynae said before her eyes widened after laying eyes on Dourado, "Whoa, look at those muscles!"

"Oh, these?" Dourado asked, flexing his arm muscles, "I will admit that they are huge, but it all came from my training with my grandmother."

"Your grandmother must have worked you to the bone, then," Lynae said, "I'm Lynae Kyanos."

"Nice to meet you, Lynae," Dourado said, "I'm Dourado Ouro."

"Dourado Ouro…you have my attention," Lynae said, "I look forward to sparing with you one day."

 _"Lynae was born into the Kingdom of Staneia as a half human-half faunus," Aoife said, "It was said that she was the undefeated Underground Fighting Queen of Shinran City. She is intimidating and shows it with her brute strength and endurance; not to mention that she can have a sailor mouth as well and gets hardheaded at times, but she can really lift a person's spirits when she wants to."_

"I appreciate the thought, but the idea of using my muscles to hurt people makes me uneasy," Dourado said.

"Haha, what kind of excuse is that?" Lynae asked, "You gotta fight people as well as Grimm in this hunter business. Besides, it's just sparing. It's not like you'll be able to kill me or anything."

"He may not be able to kill you, but I doubt your bones will remain intact after sustaining a big hit from him," Jack said as he entered the room.

"How very observant of you," Guendolen said, "I assume you're here for Professor Chandani's class?"

Jack only nodded before he sat in his seat, "I'm not much for talking, so you can continue your conversation."

 _"Jack was born into a life of a bandit, but a twist of fate brought him to Vastel Academy," Aoife said, "He is a bit quiet and focuses more on helping others instead of himself. That being said, he can get out of hand if the right buttons are pushed, so be careful not to strain him too much in conversation."_

"U-um, is this Class B-8?" Angel asked as she peaked into the room.

"That's right," Lynae said, "It's just us for now so make yourself comfortable."

"Ah!" Angel screamed as she hid from their sight.

"…Uh, was it something I said?" Lynae asked.

"I-I'm sorry," Angel said as she slowly walked into the classroom, "I-I can't handle talking with other people…or looking at them…"

"That's fine," Dourado said, "As long as you don't hate us already. That would be heartbreaking to find out."

"U-um…no, I don't hate you…" Angel said, "You just…make me nervous."

 _"Not much is known about Angel," Aoife said, "No family records, no connection to her last name. She just came out of the blue and scored well on the entrance exams. She is a timid girl who has trouble making friends, but if you can get past that, I'm sure she would make a wonderful friend."_

"And what part of these people make you nervous, little one?" Asked Acacia as she walked into the room, "Is it perhaps that one's intimidating face?" She asked looking at Lynae.

"My face? Intimidating?!" Lynae asked, "I'll have you know that I can make kittens smile with my face!"

"How would you know that though?" Acacia asked, "There aren't any kittens in this room aside from that little one you just scared."

 _"Acacia was born and raised in a small city called Wayfields, smack bang on the border between Vulna and Igarus," Aoife said, "Surprisingly enough, she was never taught anything about prejudice, so the concept of the racism between humans and faunus confuses her. Be careful when starting a conversation with her. I've heard stories of her being cryptic in her answers and somehow managing to redirect any conversation topic off of her. She is a mysterious one, that's for sure."_

"If she seems scary, then perhaps some make up would do the trick," Jack advised.

"Make up?! On me?! Pfft," Lynae scoffed, "I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that shit on my face."

"Language, please," Dourado said.

"What do you mean "language"?" Lynae asked, "This is how I always talk."

"Quite the crowd we have here," Seraph said, walking into the classroom.

"Ah, the seventh student," Guendolen said, "Now we're just missing one more."

"So, I'm the seventh to come? Ah, I knew I should have taken that left instead of the right," Seraph said.

"Well if you ever need help with directions, you can ask for help," Guendolen said.

"Thanks for the offer. My name's Seraph," Seraph said, "By the way, none of you didn't happen to see a boy with black hair, did you?"

 _"I'm sure you know Seraph Argyros well enough since you were childhood friends," Aoife said, "He's the youngest son of the Argyros family, which is a family revered for its strong line of hunters. He is outgoing to most people, but is liable to be antagonistic to others who bother him and his friends. I'm sure you'll have no trouble getting along with him."_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Aoife's Office~~_

"And that's all," Aoife said, "So what do you think?"

"They all have quite the personalities," Jurabi said, "How will they take having to learn alongside a Zenith Grimm?"

"Who knows? Maybe they'll like you, maybe they'll want to kill you," Aoife said with a shrug, "It's all up to how you want to present yourself to them."

"Are you okay with having these seven people including me as your new class?" Jurabi asked, "That seems a little…"

"To be honest…I'm not sure what this class will bring," Aoife said, "But being afraid of the unknown just isn't my style. I'm always for seeing what the unexpected has to offer."

"Well, that might make things easy for the rest of us if you're on board," Jurabi said.

"In any case, it's time for us to meet your classmates for the years ahead," Aoife said as she stood up, "Come follow me."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Classroom B-8~~_

"A boy with black hair…" Acacia said, "Can't say I've seen anyone like that."

"I have," Guendolen said, "He was about to meet the director just as I did."

"Really?" Seraph asked, "Whatever for?"

"To join this class, is my guess," Guendolen said.

"That would make sense," Jack said, "Judging by the guy-to-girl ratio, I had a feeling the next person would be a boy," Jack said.

"Well I hope he's strong," Lynae said, "Having a total of four strong dudes to spar with sounds like heaven."

"Hmhm, well I can assure you, Lynae, that this boy is stronger than he will appear," Guendolen said.

"So, what's this boy like?" Dourado asked.

"He's someone well known," Guendolen answered.

"W-well known?" Angel asked, "Does that mean if we make him mad, some people will come after us?!"

"No, no, this boy isn't anything like that…" Seraph said before his head tilted down, "At least, not in the past…"

"So, you're aware of the possibility too," Guendolen said.

"Wait, I'm lost," Dourado said, "Who exactly are you guys talking about?"

"Hello, everybody~!" Shouted a voice.

Everyone turned around and saw Aoife at the classroom door.

Aoife walked over to her desk and gave her new students a smile, "Welcome to Vastel Academy and welcome to Professor Chandani's Advanced Hunters class! Here you will learn all that you need to know about being a Vastel Hunter. For today, we'll be introducing ourselves to each other and we will then attend the opening ceremony."

 _"Wow…this is our professor?"_ Jack thought to himself while blushing, _"She's pretty cute."_

"Now, I think you all should meet your eight classmates," Aoife said, "But a fair warning: He's not your normal student here at Vastel Academy. Okay, come on out~!"

At Aoife's signal, Jurabi walked into the door with his eyes closed.

"No way!" Lynae was the first to make a comment on this.

 _"Oh, my goodness! Oh, my goodness! Oh, my goodness!"_ Angel screamed internally, _"Of all things, why is HE here!"_

"What an unexpected turn of events," Acacia said, her attention drawn to Jurabi.

"What on earth is the professor, no, the whole academy thinking?!" Jack asked.

"He's a tinier than I expected," Dourado said.

"…." Seraph winced a little when he saw Jurabi's Grimm eyes as he walked through.

"Just as I thought," Guendolen said, not the slightest bit surprised.

A long moment of silence befell the room after Jurabi faced his seven classmates.

"Go on, Jubi, introduce yourself," Aoife said, breaking the ice.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that, Professor?!" Jurabi groaned as he heard his classmates snicker at hearing his nickname.

"And just like that, all the tension disappeared!" Lynae said, laughing a little.

"Okay well the laughing is over," Jurabi said, "My name is Jurabi Alisen and I will be attending Vastel Academy for the coming future."

"Jurabi Alisen?" Dourado asked, "The guy who was on tv a few days ago?"

"Yes, that was me," Jurabi said, "My eyes should be sufficient proof."

"Ah! Those eyes!" Angel screamed.

"So, it is true," Acacia said, "And here I was thinking that it's all some sick prank."

"This is no mere joke, I assure you all," Aoife said, "Jurabi will be your classmate, so I am expecting all of you to treat him as a fellow student and human being."

"Human being?" Jack asked, "That's a Grimm, Professor Chandani. A Zenith Grimm, to be more precise."

"I understand that most of you may not trust me, but I have no intention to harm anyone here at the academy," Jurabi said, showing them his inhibitor collar, "As you can see, I am prohibited from using my Grimm powers in anyway."

"Really? That's a shame," Lynae said.

"Wh-what do you mean "that's a shame"?!" Angel said.

"I mean that I won't get a chance to fight against a Zenith Grimm that actually lets people live to tell the tale," Lynae said.

"You care more about fighting Grimm than your own well-being?" Seraph asked, "Heh, you're speaking my language already."

"What can I say?" Lynae asked with a smile, "I aim to get stronger."

"Well I'm not so sure about this," Angel said, "It is nice to have another classmate but…I don't know how to talk to a Grimm."

"Well, duh," Dourado said, "None of us here do. But hey, that means we'll be the first people to actually hold a conversation with a Grimm! Isn't that awesome?!"

"No, it is not awesome!" Angel shouted.

"Settle down, everyone," Guendolen said as she walked towards Jurabi, "Regardless of what many people will think, I believe Jurabi is a welcomed change here."

"You do?!" Jack asked.

"Indeed," Guendolen said, "You have a…strange aura about you, Jurabi. I cannot quite put my finger on it yet."

"Um…thank you?" Jurabi asked.

"Well I'm all for having Jurabi here," Lynae said, "He seems like he knows his way around a fight and those kinds of people I can easily respect."

"Your respect might be misplaced," Jack said, "We have no clue what this Grimm is capable of."

"I prefer to remain on the fence about this one," Acacia said, "Can't rule out the possibility that the Grimm side of this one will snap."

"That's good enough for now," Aoife said, "I'm sure Jurabi will put forth the effort to gain your trust and companionship, right Jurabi?"

"Yes, of course," Jurabi said, "Don't worry, guys. I'll do everything in my power to control this power of mine, and I don't blame any of you for being weary of me."

"Good to hear," Aoife said, "Now, let's all head to the audience chamber for the opening ceremony. Then, we'll spend time getting to know each other for the rest of the day."

 ***Beep***

 **"Attention all classes of Vastel Academy. Please report to the audience chamber for the Opening Ceremony. I repeat. All classes please report to the audience chamber. Thank you."**

"Well, that's our signal," Aoife said, "Please follow me to the audience chamber."

And so, Jurabi along with his seven new classmates followed Aoife to the audience chamber. Even some of them seem eager to have him in the same class; he can sense the fear wallowing deep inside each of them. Likely the fear of what he is and what he will do to them. However, it is as Elcrest said to him back at Hunter Tower.

 _"You wish to prove yourself worthy of being Vastel's protector, yes," Elcrest asked, "Then the first step would be to prove yourself to the people you will fight alongside with in pursuit of that goal. They will hate you, but it will be up to you to gain their trust."_

With those words at heart, Jurabi knows exactly what he must do. He must first gain these people's trust as he attends this academy. A difficult task but not impossible.

* * *

 **Vastel Arc Chp. 1: First Impressions**

 _ **Opening Song: only my railgun (fripSide) [Toaru Kagaku no Railgun]**_

 **Jurabi: Heeeeeeeeeeellooooooooo~! This is Jurabi Therion here with the first chapter of the second arc: The Vastel Arc rework. There weren't many changes I needed to do here and there will likely not be many changes to the rest until further notice. So, this will likely be the last time I add anything to the chapters until I need to, so thank you for your patience. There will only be one major change which will be in the latest chapter in the story so far. Once I make quick adjustments in the next few chapters, we'll finally be back on track.**

 _ **Anyways, guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter! If you did, please let me know in the reviews and leave a favorite and a follow and also join me on my own discord server to have a nice chat. Thank you very much for reading. See you next chapter~!**_

 _ **Discord: (h) (t) (t) (p) (s) : / / discord . gg / yds39Vc**_


	9. Vastel Arc Chp 2: Seraph Argyros

**Vastel Arc Chp 2: Seraph Argyros**

 _~~Vastel Academy: Audience Chamber~~_

"And here's the audience chamber," Aoife said as she and her class arrived at a huge, black and white textured audience chamber with a stage at the end of the long and wide hall.

"Wow…" Acacia said, in awe at the sight.

"It's a lot bigger than I imagined an audience chamber would be," Dourado said.

"The view can be a bit too much for one to take in, but you'll be familiar with this place before you know it," Aoife said, "I'll need to step away for a spell. Make sure not to cause any trouble while I'm gone, understand?"

"Yes, Professor," Everyone in the class said as Aoife stepped away.

An awkward pause of silence fell upon them as the sounds of other students chatting amongst themselves could be heard.

"So…uh…what do you guys think we should eat for our first ever get together?" Dourado asked, breaking the ice.

"Oooh, I was thinking about going to a sweets shop that I go to regularly," Acacia said, "The muffins there are absolutely delicious."

"Sweets?" Jack asked, "Well, I can't say no to an invitation like that. Consider it a date."

"Uh, it's not an invitation to date," Lynae said.

"Oh, i-it wasn't?!" Jack asked, "Achem! Forget I said anything."

"Going out to eat in other places isn't my cup of tea," Seraph said, "I'd much rather prefer to cook something for you all."

"You know how to cook?" Angel asked.

"Well what a surprise, so do I," Lynae said, "Maybe we should have a cooking contest."

"Heh, challenging me to a cooking contest?" Seraph asked with a confident smirk, "I hope you know what's in store for you by challenging me like that."

"If you're that tough, then it'll make the experience more fun," Lynae said, bearing a similar smirk of confidence.

"Th-there's no need to make cooking a competition," Angel said before she had a thought, _"Although…a competition would mean I get to eat twice the sweets!"_

Jurabi and Guendolen both watched their classmates mingle with one another.

"It seems our classmates are getting along well, Alisen," Guendolen said.

"It really does, and a lot faster than I expected," Jurabi said.

"Why not speak with them?" Guendolen said, "Isn't that what people usually do when they see others talking?"

"I wish I could, but…" Jurabi looked down, "To be honest, I haven't actively spoken to other people since my parents died. I spent so much of my life consumed in my work that the thought of friendship never occurred to me once."

"Certainly, you must have had some friends to look to," Guendolen said.

"The only friends I had at the time were Seraph and Lily ever since childhood, but I…I pushed them away when they needed me the most," Jurabi explained, "Seraph may be doing well in hiding it, but I can sense negative emotions on other people, and his are of both fear and heartbreak."

"You can sense negative emotions?" Guendolen said before remembering that Jurabi was a Grimm, "Ah, Grimm are naturally drawn towards negative emotions so it makes sense that you would be the same. In that case, Alisen, what negative emotions am I feeling?"

"You?" Jurabi asked, turning to Guendolen. He gave her a good scan until he sensed something inside her. When he did, his eyes widened in shock, "Th-that can't be! You…you're…"

"Wait…Jurabi?! Is that you?!" Shouted a familiar voice.

Jurabi turned around and saw a auburn haired girl running towards him.

Her eyes had the color of emerald and her hair fell past her shoulders. She wore a long, sleeveless, blue rib-knit duster sweater with a white triquetra design on the back, matching rib-knit arm warmers, a black tank top, a denim button-up skirt, and black cycling shorts with zippers going down the front and a pair of silver buckled black boots.

"Wait, Lily?" Jurabi asked, "Is that you?!"

"Man, when I first heard you might be coming here, I spent all this time looking for you, Jurabi," Lily said, "I thought you would be in my class, but it turns out you were assigned to a different one."

"Yes, I was," Jurabi said, "It caught me off guard, not going to lie. How long has it been? Over ten years?"

"I believe so," Lily said, checking out Jurabi's eyes, "My, looks like you've gotten a little more handsome since we last saw each other."

"Have I?" Jurabi asked, unfazed by Lily's flirtious comment, "I doubt a Grimm can be handsome."

"Grimm?" Lily asked, just noticing how black Jurabi's eyes were, "Oh my gosh…so the rumors were true. Jurabi, I…"

"It's okay, Lily," Jurabi said, "I've accepted the monster that I am."

"And how are your new classmates? They're treating you well, I hope," Lily asked.

"It's hit or miss for Alisen," Guendolen said, "Some are understandably cautious, but I think Jurabi means no harm to us."

"Well that's somewhat good to hear," Lily said, "I'm Lily Argyros. I believe my younger brother is in your class too. A pleasure to meet you."

"And I am Guendolen Pretorius," Guendolen said.

"Wait, Pretorius?" Lily asked, "THE Pretorius?! What brings a member of that family here of all places?"

"Speaking of the Pretorius family…" Jurabi wanted to ask Guendolen about the relations between his family and hers, but he was interrupted.

The sound of the microphone rank as Farendel's voice rang throughout the audience chamber. Standing beside him was Aoife and Doran with several other professors and staff.

" **May I have your attention, please?"** Said Farendel as the students quite down.

"Oh, we're already starting?" Lynae asked.

"Quiet down," Jack whispered, "We don't want to get in trouble on our first day."

" **Thank you,"** Farendel said through the microphone after the silence filled the audience chamber, **"Welcome to Vastel's 599 year old hunter school: Vastel Academy. I am Farendel von Mordrell, the director and head of this academy. You are all standing in an ancient hunter school built by the combine efforts of the human and faunus race of centuries past. This academy has strived to teach the best and only the best in the art of hunting Grimm, upholding honor and respect, and most of all, protecting Vastel. All of you standing here today are the future elites of Vastel; thus, the weight of responsibility of being an elite hunter weighs on your shoulders. I do hope you all strive to become excellent examples of true Vastel hunters and students of Vastel Academy."**

"Wow…this school's been around for almost 600 years?" Dourado asked silently.

"It looks so new and well kept," Angel whispered, "This place must have been valuable to still be operational to this day."

" **With all of that said, for today you shall be informed of the events for the coming week and month, so please pay attention,"** Farendel said as he stepped to the side.

Aoife walked up to the microphone and began speaking, **"Hello, everybody~! It's your number one professor, Aoife Chandani!"**

Farendel and Doran both facepalmed themselves after seeing Aoife talk to the students in a manner.

"I told you we should have brought Nebula for this, Director," Doran said.

"You know how busy Nebula gets at this hour, and the students would have felt nervous around either of us," Farendel said.

"Wow…our professor sure is getting excited," Acacia whispered.

"Too excited, if you ask me," Seraph whispered.

" **As for this week, there will be hunter pre-test held at the Loyal Hills on Saturday that will serve as a means to gauge the current strengths and weaknesses of every student here,"** Aoife said, **"Once you have been fully evaluated, you will be placed into a four-man team. This is a required event so be sure to arrive at the drop ship hanger on the basement floor at noon."**

"A pre-test to determine our teams?" Guendolen asked.

"What does that mean for our class?" Jurabi asked, "We only have eight people."

"I guess that means you'll have two teams for your class," Lily said.

" **And on a final note,"** Farendel said as he took over with the microphone, **"There have been a rumor circulating that Jurabi Alisen, who recently announced himself as Ragnarok, is attending our academy. You have my promise that you have no need to be afraid. The decision to allow him in Vastel Academy was decided by myself along with the Hunter Council. Steps have been taken to ensure the safety of both Mr. Alisen and the rest of the student body; however, the staff asks all of you to not cause any trouble for Mr. Alisen. Anyone caught attacking Mr. Alisen with weapons will be expelled immediately. That is all for now. Professors, please escort your students back to your classrooms. Thank you all for your time."**

For a time, the students all whispered to one another—likely having doubts about their safety and the staff's capabilities to keep Jurabi from attacking them. But eventually, their professors escorted them all back to their class.

"Even with this announcement, I doubt the students will sit by and do nothing," Guendolen said.

"I hate to say it, but that much is true," Lily said, "Not only is Jurabi an Elder Grimm, but he has that controversy with his company too. Recovering from that will be difficult."

"They can say whatever they wish to say about me," Jurabi said, "I know my mistakes aren't so easily erased, so the only thing that matters now is protecting Vastel, even if her people wish me dead."

"Jurabi…" Lily said.

"Oh Jurabi~! Guendolen~! It's time for us to go back to our classroom!" Aoife shouted.

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Argyros," Guendolen said.

"As it was meeting you, Miss Pretorius," Lily said before she turned to Jurabi, "If anyone starts bothering you, Jurabi, please don't hesitate to come to me, okay?"

"I'm not sure I would want to drag you into my problems," Jurabi said.

"Hey, you know the motto of my family: If someone hurts our loved ones, it becomes our problem—a problem that I am more than willing to correct," Lily said with a confident smile, "It'll just be like when Seraph and I met you."

"…Okay, then I will consider asking for your help," Jurabi said, "I'll see you later, Lily."

"Sure," Lily said as Jurabi returned to his classmates.

"Seraph, don't you want to talk to your sister?" Jurabi asked.

"…Oh…well…" Seraph looked towards his sister, who was just leaving with her class, "There's no reason to. She's obviously busy with her classmates so no point in bothering her," He said before he moved on ahead.

"Seraph?" Jurabi asked before he thought, _"That's odd. I remember both he and Lily were inseparable when we were kids. Did something happen?"_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Classroom B-8~~_

After Jurabi's class returned to classroom B-8, they took time to be acquainted with each other and formally introduce themselves to each other.

"Okay, now that everyone's getting to know each other better, I need to make some announcements and let you know how things will work around here," Aoife said, "But first, do you all have any questions?"

"I have one, Professor," Acacia said, "Why is it that this class only has eight students? Usually a single class has around twenty to twenty-five students."

"A good question, Miss Woods," Aoife said, "I know it must be confusing for the rest of you, but I recommended all of you in this room to be a part of this class."

"Y-you did?" Dourado asked.

"That's right," Aoife said, "This is an advanced class for unique individuals who have caught not only my eye but the eye of Director Mordrell himself. I am sure some of you here have wondered how you managed to get into a class like this despite your grades not being up to par."

The students all looked at each other with confused glances.

"Your grades on the entrance exams weren't that much of a factor for whether or not you got into this class," Aoife said, "Each and every one of you has something special. What that special thing is, exactly, is for me and the Director to know and for all of you to find out. Any other questions?"

"Yes, it's about that pre-test the director was talking about…" Jack said.

"I was just about to get to that, Mr. Starfeld," Aoife said, "By tradition, Vastel always holds a pre-test to gauge the abilities of their students and place them into teams of four with one leader based on the results. This class will follow that tradition, but in a different way."

"In a different way?" Seraph asked.

"Since there are eight of you, naturally there will be two teams of four," Aoife explained, "But at heart, this entire class is one single team. The only purpose to splitting into teams of four will be for competition and strength building exercises. How well you do on the pre-test will not be counted towards your actual grade in this class, but it is highly recommended that you do your best in that test regardless."

" _I wonder what this pre-test will have,"_ Jurabi thought to himself, _"And I wonder who will be my teammates."_

"Another announcement I would like to make is the situation surrounding Jurabi and how the school is going to handle it," Aoife said, "Starting today, Jurabi will be placed in a special, anti-Grimm room at his curfew of 8 p.m."

"You're going to lock him up?" Lynae asked, "Did he do something wrong?"

"I'm opposed to the idea as well, but the Hunter Council demands it in exchange for allowing Jurabi to attend here," Aoife said, "And it's for his own safety as well. We can't put him at risk by having him sleep in the dorms with other students."

"So, the best choice…is to isolate him?" Angel asked, feeling her heart drop at the thought of someone else living on their own.

"I am content with this," Jurabi said, "Thank you for your concerns, but I'll be okay. As long as everyone else is safe, I'm willing to sleep alone."

"…" Aoife silently glanced at Jurabi after hearing him say that before she continued, "We have about five hours until eight p.m. Why don't we go out somewhere and get something to eat as a class?"

"Eat somewhere together as a class?" Angel asked, "I-I don't know about that."

"We've been talking about doing something like that before," Acacia said, "A few of us are a little mixed."

"Well I'm all for it," Dourado said, "Any chance to eat is a chance I'm willing to take."

"Again, I still think we should have me and Seraph cook for you guys," Lynae said, "I still want to see how good of a cook he is, right Seraph?"

"…" Seraph was lost in thought and did not hear Lynae's question.

"Um…Earth to Seraph~!" Lynae shouted, "Are you there?"

"…Yes," Seraph said, "Sorry, I just had something on my mind."

"And what might that be, if you don't mind us asking," Acacia asked.

"…Nothing to worry yourselves over," Seraph said, "I would love to cook with Lynae, but I'm going to have to take a rain check on that."

"Wait, really?" Dourado asked, "But your food might be delicious, Seraph."

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline the offer as well," Guendolen said, "I'm not one for celebrations with people I just met."

"I feel pretty much the same," Jack said, "You all seem to be good people at heart, but I'd rather not party with you just yet."

"…It's okay to feel that way," Jurabi said, "I'm also afraid of what other people will do to you all if they see you with me. Perhaps it's for the best that you all not celebrate with me around."

"Jurabi, that's not…" Seraph stopped himself before he looked away.

"Very well," Aoife said, "If you do not wish to have a party yet, then I won't force you. But let me say one thing: I don't like teaching a class full of frowny faces nor do I like fake smiles. One day, I will get you all together so we can have a party full of laughs and smiles."

"Professor, you know that I…" Jurabi said.

"I know, Jurabi," Aoife said, "But that's not going to stop me. I'll make even you smile if it's the last thing I do."

"Hehe, I like you already, Professor," Lynae said, "You're a woman who doesn't give up, and I respect that."

"If that's all for today, then you are all dismissed," Aoife said, "Feel free to roam and explore the academy before you go to bed, but please be careful not to go into the restricted areas and stay out of trouble."

"Yes, Professor," Everyone said before they began to leave the classroom.

Aoife turned to Jurabi, who had yet to leave, "Jurabi, unfortunately we can't have you roaming around. I'm sorry, but if you have nothing else to do, I need you to come with me to your quarters."

"Okay," Jurabi said as he followed Aoife through Vastel Academy and to a well-guarded area.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Dorm Hallway~~_

Seraph was on his way to the dorm rooms until he heard a familiar voice.

"Ah, Seraph!" The voice shouted.

Seraph turned and saw his older sister, Lily, walking up to him with a smile.

"Lily," Seraph said.

"It's great to see you again," Lily said, "I haven't seen you for over a year or so. How have you been?"

"It's been that long?" Seraph asked, "I hardly noticed. And yet…"

"What's with the melancholy all of a sudden?" Lily asked, "That's not like you at all. I remember when Rayleigh always got annoyed when we got gloomy over something. Come on, it won't hurt to smile."

"Lily…have you not realized what's going on here?" Seraph asked, "Or are you going to keep playing pretend around Jurabi?"

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked.

"I saw you talking with Jurabi," Seraph said, "Judging from the fact that he was talking with you so easily, I'm guessing you didn't work up the courage to tell him the truth either. You may have him fooled, but I know you better."

"I…I don't understand," Lily said, "Where is all of this coming from, Seraph? We used to be so inseparable as kids. Could it be that…when Rayleigh disappeared and Jurabi stopped visiting us…"

"Rayleigh and Jurabi weren't the ones who caused this rift between us, it's you, Lily," Seraph said.

"Me?" Lily asked.

"I know of the monster lurking inside you: the beast that kills without emotion," Seraph said.

"The beast that kills without emotion?" Lily asked, remembering a certain event, "I assume you're referring to the events five years ago? Our first expedition as new hunters?"

"I am," Seraph said, "The way you "interrogated" that Eclipse soldier…It was ruthless torture yet you weren't fazed by it in the slightest. I also remember the way you killed his squad as well—how you watched them suffer. And your face…that expression…it felt like staring at a dark, cold abyss. That was our first battle together. I remember it vividly."

"…I remember that too," Lily said, looking down at the ground, "That man he…he had the nerve to act so proud of being there to witness the murder of Jurabi's father. At the thought of Jurabi suffering, I just…couldn't control myself."

"So you don't deny it?" Seraph asked, "What you did all those years ago went against everything our brother and father taught us. You used to hold their values of preserving life in such high regard, but on that night you…"

"Seraph…I…" Lily said.

"I need to go now," Seraph said, "I won't tell Jurabi a single thing about that incident. That all falls on you, but mark my words: If you don't put that demon inside you on a leash and it ends up hurting Jurabi…" He went quiet, not finishing his sentence.

"…I understand," Lily said.

"And I hope you do," Seraph said before he walked off.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Restricted Area: Basement Level~~_

Jurabi and Aoife took an elevator down to the basement level of the academy and arrived at a dark corridor. When Aoife took the first step, the room lit up in bright, white lights.

"Eh!" Jurabi flinched at the sudden brightness.

"Bright, isn't it?" Aoife said, "This way."

They both walked through the bright corridor and arrived at a door that was being guarded by two elite hunters. After showing them her ID, they opened the door.

"This will be your room, Jurabi," Aoife said, stepping to the side.

Jurabi walked into the room and looked around. To his shock, it looked more comfortable than he thought it would be and a lot larger. In fact, it looked like the combination of a five-star bedroom with a mechanic workshop added to it. Jurabi saw all of his equipment there along with the damaged armor that he used in his last fight against Gerald.

"Whoa…" Jurabi said in shock, "Is this really my room?"

"Of course," Aoife said, closing the door after entering the room as well, "It took a lot of work, but the director and I wanted your time here to be as comfortable as possible."

"You didn't have to," Jurabi said, looking down at the ground.

"You're right, we didn't have to," Aoife said with a smile while she walked over to examine Jurabi's Grimm armor, "But we wanted to regardless. Since you are a Grimm, you don't have access to aura or a semblance. That must be why you chose to make this armor here. I must say that is impressive beyond belief."

"It was only possible because I got help from a faunus," Jurabi said, "I am proud of what I made, but looking at the damages it took, I can't call it perfect."

"Indeed, you'll need stronger armor and weapons if you even hope to fight the Zenith Grimm," Aoife said, "Hence why you are allowed to build anything in this room, but only on the condition that you do not use what you build for ill purpose."

"You have my word," Jurabi said, "My dad wanted to bring peace to our world and worked hard to do so. Even though he can't fulfill his dream, I promised him that I would do so in his stead. I'll be Vastel's Guardian, just as he always called me."

"I see," Aoife said, "So your mother wasn't the only person…"

"What about my mother?" Jurabi asked.

"…There's something I think you should know, Jurabi," Aoife said, "About your mother…she never told you this, but she would always call you her "Little Guardian" whenever she brought you up in a conversation."

"Little Guardian…" Jurabi said, "Must be a reference to the story book she read with me and my dad," He paused and took out the book that he loved so dearly as a child.

"I'm sorry to be reopening wounds like this," Aoife said, "I wanted you to know that you meant the world to them—to Dana especially."

"It's okay, Professor," Jurabi said, "In fact, I'm thankful that you told me all this…even though I can't express gratitude. Thinking back to that night, I can't bring myself to be mad at either of them. Dad was unable to do anything as he was killed before my eyes, and Mom…I don't know what happened to her, but I have no doubt she did all she could to protect our home. I just…wish I got to at least witness their final moments…hear their last words…"

Aoife quietly watched Jurabi as he stared at the book, tears falling down his cheeks and onto the old book in his hands. He worked up the courage to wipe his tears away and took in a deep breath.

"Sorry," Jurabi said, "I…didn't want to end up like that in front of you."

Aoife said nothing and instead wrapped Jurabi in a warm hug, "No apologies needed, Jurabi. As your Professor, I'll always be here for you. After all, I still need to make you smile."

"Again with the 'making me smile' stuff," Jurabi said as Aoife broke the hug, "Well…it's not impossible so we'll see in the future if you will be able to make me smile."

"Definitely," Aoife said, "Get some rest. Tomorrow, we'll be talking about the basics of being a hunter."

"Okay, I will," Jurabi said as he watched Aoife leave the room. He then looked back at the old book, "All of the pages are damaged beyond repair, especially in the section that contained the ending to the story. Maybe…I should try and remember what the story was about and see if I can rebuild it. Someday…" With that said, Jurabi decided to go to sleep for the night.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Argyros City (Ten Years Ago)~~_

" _Hey, hey, Seraph!" A young Jurabi called, poking Seraph with a stick he found, "You awake?!"_

" _Yeah, I'm awake, Jurabi!" Seraph shouted annoyed, "But please poke me harder!"_

" _Okay!" Jurabi said as he poked Seraph's forehead harder with the stick._

" _OW!" Seraph screamed, "I was being sarcastic!"_

" _Hehehe, I know~!" Jurabi said, smirking mischievously._

 _Seraph let out a slightly angry sigh, "You are a handful, you know that, Jurabi?"_

" _My parents tell me that a lot," Jurabi said, "I'm happy I'm having that effect on you two."_

" _Yeah, it's weird, but you do have an odd effect on people," Seraph said, "Like you're some kind of fairy of fortune or something."_

" _No, not a fairy," Jurabi said, "I'm more like a Guardian!"_

" _A Guardian?" Seraph asked._

" _Umhm," Jurabi nodded, "They're the heroes of the story my mommy and daddy read to me."_

" _Huh? You're still being read kiddy stories, Jurabi?" Seraph said with a playful smirk, "I thought you were a tough Guardian."_

" _Hey, I'm serious!" Jurabi shouted._

" _Hehe, I know you are," Seraph said, "So these Guardians…"_

" _Yeah, there are eight of them," Jurabi said, "All eight of them helped make Vastel and protect all of us. And I want to someday be like them."_

"… _That's a nice goal to have, Jurabi," Seraph said, looking down at the ground, "I spend most of my days in my brother and sister's shadows most of the time, but you…you act more free despite having your parents and sister towering over you. How do you handle such pressures placed on you?"_

" _Huh? That was a sudden change of topic," Jurabi said, "Well, to answer…I don't think about stuff like that. My mommy, daddy, and big sis can do their own thing, while I do my own thing."_

" _You do your own thing…" Seraph repeated._

" _Anyways, what kind of Guardian do you want to be, Seraph?" Jurabi asked._

" _What kind?" Seraph asked._

" _Yeah, there's a Light, Dark, Fire, Earth, Water, Gravity, Nature, and Wind Guardian," Jurabi said, "I already claim the Guardian of Darkness, so hands off."_

" _What's with this all of a sudden?!" Seraph asked._

" _Come on, please," Jurabi pleaded, "I want to role-play with you~!"_

 _Seraph let out a groan, knowing that role-play isn't his favorite thing to do, but he didn't want to make Jurabi feel disappointed, "Alright, if I have to choose, it would be the Fire Guardian."_

" _Yaay! Only six more people to go!" Jurabi cheered._

" _Six?! We have to convince six people to go along with this?!" Seraph asked._

" _Yep, it'll be fun," Jurabi said._

" _That sounds like a pain to go through just for some fun…" Seraph said._

" _Oh…it's not going to be fun for you?" Jurabi asked._

"… _I can't mince words, but yeah," Seraph said, "But…it'll be fun for you, Jurabi, so I'll bear with it."_

" _You don't have to if you don't want to, Seraph," Jurabi said, before he remembered something that made his spine chill, "Oh no! I forgot it's my turn to do chores! I have to go, Seraph! So sorry!"_

" _It's fine, Jurabi," Seraph said, "But before you go, Jurabi…let's make a promise."_

" _A promise…?" Jurabi asked._

"… _Let's one day…"_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~The Next Day (Monday): Vastel Academy Dorm Rooms~~_

Seraph's eyes popped wide open from the dream he had. He rubbed his face as he tried to ward off the exhaustion from waking up, "…Our promise that day…" He muttered to himself.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Classroom B-8~~_

The next day was the beginning of Vastel Academy's winter semester and the first day of Aoife's class session.

"Okay class, let's go over the rules, schedule, and announcements for today," Aoife said, "Unlike most professors at this academy, I am more relaxed when it comes to rules, but I can also be strict if you take advantage of that. Be sure to keep that in mind."

And so, Aoife explained the basic rules that the academy has, which are basically similar rules of a standard high school aside from a few exceptions.

"The use of hunter equipment inside the academy is strictly prohibited, and usage of equipment outside of the academy must be during authorized missions," Aoife said, "And as you heard from Director Mordrell, any aggression towards Jurabi Alisen here will be met with expulsion. This is a rule I will be strict about, so do be mindful of that. Any questions?" That was when Lynae raised her hand, "Yes, Miss Kyanos?"

"So, about that rule stating that usage of hunter equipment must be authorized," Lynae asked, "What do you mean by "authorized"?"

"A good question," Aoife said, "Each class in all of the four main academies are assigned one mission per month during a term. It is only during these missions or during an emergency can your hunter equipment be used."

"So, does that mean we have a mission this month?" Jack asked.

"Definitely," Aoife said, "It'll be a cake walk, trust me. We're to patrol the eastern border of Vastel. Beyond the east is the border that separates Vulna and Igarus. The director will give me more details sometime this month of August, so until then we're given enough time for all of you to learn as much as you can. Now as for the weekly schedule of our class, hunter lectures will be held on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; while battle training will be on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Sundays will be your days off."

" _This sure is a lot to take in,"_ Jurabi thought to himself, _"First a pre-test and now a mission?"_

"Any questions before I continue?" Aoife asked, but when no one raised their hand, the professor continued, "Now, as for your pre-test this Saturday. I have briefly explained it to you, but I will reiterate for you…"

As Aoife spoke about the upcoming pre-test, Jurabi's attention went somewhere else by Grimm instinct. This will sometimes happen whenever he feels a strong negative emotion wave—waves that Grimm can easily detect when humans can't. The negative emotion that Jurabi was drawn to belonged to Seraph. He couldn't pinpoint it, but Jurabi now knows that something is bothering Seraph.

"Oooh, Jubi~!" Aoife cheered as she smacked Jurabi's hand resting on the desk, with her staff.

"Ow!" Jurabi screamed, rubbing his hurting hand.

"This is the first day of class," Aoife, "I am aware that you are a Grimm, but be mindful not to let your instincts overtake you during class."

"S-Sorry, Professor," Jurabi said.

"Now then, let's start with the lecture for today," Aoife said.

Jurabi paid close attention to today's lecture, which comprised of all the basic rules and regulations of a hunter. But in the back of his mind, he could still feel the intense emotions emanating from Seraph.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~After Lecture Hours~~_

After classes for the day were concluded, Jurabi was on his way back to his living quarters until he noticed Seraph heading off somewhere on his own.

"Seraph…" Jurabi whispered to himself, deciding it was time to confront him. He followed Seraph for a few steps until Seraph stopped in his tracks.

"I know you're there," Seraph said, "There's no need to hide from me."

Jurabi didn't say a word and instead stepped out of his hiding spot, "I'm surprised that you detected me, let alone knew it was me following you, Seraph."

"A lot changed since we were little," Seraph said, "I trained so rigorously that I can sense any presence that causes a shift in the air around me."

"That's right," Jurabi said, "Your family was well known for having powerful warriors and monks. The training you likely went through must have heightened your senses beyond that of a normal human.

"So, is there a reason you've been following me, Jurabi?" Seraph asked, "I'm assuming it has something to do with you staring at me during today's lecture."

"Ah, so you sensed that too," Jurabi said, "To get to the point, I have to ask you. Is there something going on with you?"

"Something going on with me?" Seraph asked.

"Ever since I first saw you in the classroom the other day, I've felt this…negative emotion emanating from you," Jurabi said, "And I also noticed that you've been distant from your older sister, Lily."

Hearing Jurabi mention Lily made Seraph's gaze turn to the ground.

"Did…did something happen to you two, Seraph?" Jurabi asked, "I know that I cut all ties with my friends after what happened to my father on that fateful night…was what I did to you two…"

"The thing with my sister and me is between the two of us, you have nothing to do with that," Seraph said, "Lily is my big sister and she still means a lot to me. As for what happened after you cut ties with us…."

"What happened?" Jurabi asked.

"…" Seraph hesitated, his gaze moving towards Jurabi's Grimm-like eyes.

"Seraph, please, I want to help you," Jurabi said, "Just as you've always helped me when we were little. I know things are a little mess right now, but I believe we can get our friendship back on track."

"Then answer me this: Why did you break our promise?" Seraph asked.

"Our promise?" Jurabi asked.

"Don't tell me you forgot all about your promise!" Seraph shouted, "The promise we made back when we were kids."

"I'm sorry, Seraph, but I truly don't remember," Jurabi said.

"…I can't believe this," Seraph said, his voice sounding broken, "I guess I really am alone…"

"Alone?" Jurabi asked.

"The Jurabi I knew and loved back then died with his parents—replaced with whatever the hell you are," Seraph said.

"Seraph…" Jurabi said.

"I taught Jurabi the same thing my older brother taught me: The value of life," Seraph said, "But you…I know what you did—all the innocent faunus' who were ruthlessly slaughtered because of the weapons you built."

Jurabi froze when he was reminded of his crimes—of the events that took place because of his desire for revenge.

"Jurabi would never have desired such horrible things for the faunus'," Seraph said, "Nor would he have abandoned his friends when they needed him. Lily may sugarcoat her feelings for you, but I won't."

"You're right," Jurabi said, "Maybe I'm not the same Jurabi as a kid. I'm probably not the real Jurabi at all. I don't know what to say to truly explain my actions, and I don't know how I can bring back the old Jurabi, giving my circumstances. I'm sorry."

Seraph silently clenched his fists, "And Jurabi wouldn't be sounding so defeated like this! I taught him better than that! Do you not understand how much it pains me to see my longtime friend in this state?!"

"Things have changed, Seraph," Jurabi said, "The weight of my sins is heavy upon my back and whatever soul I have left.

"This is worse than I thought…" Seraph said before letting out a sigh, "Very well…we'll do this the Argyros way."

"The Argyros way?" Jurabi asked.

"My family holds traditions for those who have committed a crime," Seraph said, "Criminals who wish for redemption are to prove themselves in battle against powerful warriors and Grimm."

"I see," Jurabi said, "So all I need to do is fight someone strong."

"That's right," Seraph said, "This tradition is usually held in coliseums and such, but since we don't have that here in Vastel Academy, the sparing grounds will be suitable enough."

"Wait, you don't mean…" Jurabi said.

"Jurabi Alisen, or should I say Ragnarok, I challenge you to a sparring match tomorrow during battle training!" Seraph shouted, "I only want to see the best you can offer. Only then can I determine if the Jurabi I knew is still alive somewhere in that Grimm body of yours. Do you accept?"

"…" The thought of hurting his own friend made Jurabi hesitate in his decision, but ultimately, he thinks it's the best way to mend whatever wounds were inflicted on their friendship, "I accept."

"Good," Seraph said as he started walking away, "It may be a training session, but I expect you to be at your best. See you, tomorrow."

"…You too, Seraph," Jurabi said.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~The Next Day (Tuesday) Training Room~~_

On the next day, Aoife's class went to a large, wide room where many hunters go to hone their skills and techniques with their weapon. This particular room has built him hologram technology that allows a certain space to become any environment from a forest to the base of a volcano. For the sake of giving a visual example, the class watches as two hunters fight against two fake Beowolves in a forest at nighttime, despite it being daytime in reality.

"Wooow…" Angel gasped in complete awe.

"Man, I never saw stuff like this back at home!" Dourado shouted.

"Me neither," Jack said, "Is this truly ours to use?"

"Of course," Aoife said, "We can perform battle simulations, watch and study past simulations, and even have one-on-one sparing matches between two hunters."

"This training ground uses hologram technology," Jurabi said, "The technology that my father invented. I was little when I first saw it, but I'm surprised how much that tech has advanced within ten years."

"It was actually thanks to the Pretorius family that Nitorin's breakthrough of hologram technology was able to reach this point," Guendolen said, "My father personally lead the research and improvement of said technology and distributed the results around all of Vastel."

"I've never heard of such a thing happening," Jurabi said.

"Well, my father's research team tried to contact you for your permission, Alisen, but you were too busy at the time," Guendolen said, "But we did get permission from a man named Gerald Achilles, who apparently spoke on your behalf."

"So even back then…" Jurabi said, his face turning dark at the thought of the man who manipulated him.

"In any case, thanks to these holograms, training of hunters has vastly improved," Aoife said, "So who wants to try it out first?"

"I do," Seraph suddenly said, catching everyone off guard, "I want to make use of the one-on-one feature."

"The one-on-one feature?" Acacia asked, "Who are you going to spar with?"

Seraph turned to Jurabi with a glance of determination, "Jurabi Alisen."

Jurabi's face towards Seraph had no emotion, but Seraph could tell that he was ready for the match.

"Is this acceptable with you, Professor?" Seraph asked, turning to Aoife.

"Hmm…I'm not keen on the idea of jumping head first into a spar, but I shall allow it," Aoife said, "I will admit I am curious about not only Jurabi's skills but everyone else's too."

And so Jurabi and Seraph stepped out onto the training area.

Aoife typed out the proper settings on the computer, "Setting up simulation environment."

Jurabi and Seraph found themselves in a wide, grassy plain after the room around them turned into holograms. Their weapons were them formed on their hands.

Fallen Angel was perfectly matched despite being a hologram—a feat that impressed even Jurabi.

"Jurabi," Aoife said, "Your restraints will be lifted temporarily. During this time, you are not allowed to use your Grimm powers in any way. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Professor," Jurabi said as his restraints were forced apart, allowing him to freely use his arms.

"That's a shame," Seraph said with a sigh. In his hand was a black, high-caliber, variable ammunition gunblade, "Kitsuki and I wanted to fight you at your fullest, but I'll take what I can get," He said, calling his weapon Kitsuki.

"Are you ready, Seraph?" Jurabi asked, taking a fighting stance.

"Ready when you are," Seraph said.

" **Sparring Match: Jurabi Alisen vs. Seraph Argyros"**

" **First to land two blows wins"**

 **BEGIN!**

Jurabi and Seraph wasted no time in running towards one another, eyes unwavering. Their first blade clash was loud. Sparks emitted from Fallen Angel and Kitsuki's blades, but Seraph had the advantage in pure strength.

He pushed Jurabi back to the point where Jurabi ended up bending backwards from the sheer force.

" _He's stronger than I thought!"_ Jurabi thought to himself before he ended the clash by backing away.

"You're not getting away from me," Seraph said as he kept up the pressure on Jurabi by attacking with quick sword strikes from every possible angle.

All Jurabi could do was defend himself from these strikes.

"Your defensive form is sloppy, Jurabi," Seraph said, "An enemy can easily break through it like this!" He shouted as his strike knocked Jurabi off balance.

"Ah!" Jurabi shouted.

With Jurabi's defenses wide open, Seraph landed a sword blow onto Jurabi, knocking the Grimm back.

 **Seraph Argyros: One point**

"Wow, Seraph didn't even miss a beat," Lynae said, "He kept Jurabi on the defensive just like that!"

"That fighting style…" Jack said, "Could that be the fabled Argyros style?"

"Yes, it is," Angel said, "I-I'm quite familiar with that style due to my research about it."

"You've studied the Argyros style despite not being a part of the family?" Guendolen asked, "I've never heard of a person who would do that."

"U-um, I just like studying about different families in Vastel, s-so I didn't mind," Angel said.

"What do you know about this family style, Angel?" Acacia asked.

"W-well, in the Kingdom of Vulna, there are three powerful fighting styles that the people of that region learn: The Komada style, The Argyros style, and the Bakena style. The Komada style is used for defense. The Argryos style, as Seraph presented to you, is fitted for an aggressive fighting style while the Bakena style focuses on speed and flexibility."

"Wow, you sure know a lot about styles, Angel!" Dourado shouted, "Maybe I should consider you my homework buddy from now on.

"A-ah…um…th-thanks?" Angel asked, a little surprised by Dourado's sudden out burst.

"Hm…I never thought the people of Vulna kingdom would be able to utilize such unique techniques," Guendolen said.

Back at the fight, Jurabi had just recovered from the hit he took from Seraph. Thankfully, this spar is happening during a VR session, but if this had been real, Jurabi would be dead.

"Nice hit on me, Seraph," Jurabi said, "You certainly don't pull any punches."

"Now I want to see how you are on the offensive," Seraph said.

"On the offensive?" Jurabi asked.

"Yes, try and hit me as hard as you can," Seraph said, taking a defensive stance.

"What is Seraph doing?" Dourado asked.

"He's…taking a defensive position," Lynae said, "Isn't this one of those styles you were talking about, Angel?"

"T-that can't be!" Angel shouted, "At his age, Seraph should not have been able to learn two of Vulna's fighting styles!"

"…Hmhm…" Aoife let out a silent giggle.

Jurabi tightened his grip on Fallen Angel. He knows that if he gets hit by Seraph one more time, the match ends.

"What's wrong?" Seraph asked, "The Jurabi I knew would be at my throat by now, but you, a Zenith Grimm, are hesitating. Are you afraid of me or are you afraid to hurt me?"

"Why do you insist on talking about Jurabi as if he's long gone?" Jurabi asked, "It truly is me, Seraph."

"How can you be sure of that?!" Seraph asked, pointing Kitsuki at Jurabi, "For all we know you could be another Grimm playing puppet master with my friend's body! I didn't want to believe what I saw on the news…when you took those bandages off your eyes…those damned eyes of yours!"

"Seraph…" Jurabi whispered.

"For ten years…for ten damn years I convinced myself that Jurabi would never do the horrible things you did and that all this talk of "Jurabi helping the Eclipse" was just a bad attempt at a silly joke, but what did I see in those eyes of yours that day?!" Seraph said angrily. His breathing became stiff and heavy before he said, "The shallow corpse of my dear friend…" Jurabi could barely see the tears forming in Seraph's eyes, "…Are the people I come to love doomed to change forever…?" He muttered.

Jurabi heard those words. He did not understand them, but he didn't say anything and instead went into an offensive position, "I have no words at the moment, Seraph. All I can do is prove myself to you the Argyros way. Will you allow me the chance?"

"…" Seraph tightened his grip on Kitsuki, "You get one chance."

"That's all I need," Jurabi said as he ran towards Seraph with his blade ready to attack.

Seraph took the Komada style stance, ready to Jurabi's attack.

Both blades connected with each other, causing a strong sound wave to hit the room. Neither combatants this time showed any sign of backing away or difficulty. Jurabi and Seraph only sent glares at each other, able to look deep into each other's eyes.

"Your eyes…" Seraph muttered to himself, noticing something else behind Jurabi's Grimm eyes.

"Your eyes, Seraph…" Jurabi said, "It's all…coming back to me…"

Both of them took a step back from each other.

Jurabi quickly closed the gap again with a sweep attack.

Seraph jumped over in anticipation; however, Jurabi quickly readjusted his posture and went for a jab attack instead.

Seraph's eyes widened in an instant before he blocked the attack on instinct, but the attack was so powerful that it sent him skidding across the ground.

"H-he did…" Angel said in shock as he watched Seraph's movements, "Seraph learned the Komada style! How is that possible?!"

"Remember when I told you all that I recommended each of you to be a part of my class?" Aoife asked.

"Yes, you said each of us has a special, unique reason you chose us," Guendolen said, "Does that mean the reason you chose Seraph…"

"That's right," Aoife said, "Throughout history, there has never been a single resident of the kingdom of Vulna who has mastered more than one Vulna Style…until this generation. Seraph, has mastered both the Argyros Style and the Kodama style, making him the first ever Vulnan to master more than one style."

"That's…incredible!" Lynae shouted.

"Two styles?!" Jack asked, "At that age?"

"It may seem impossible, but it's true," Aoife said.

" _Even if it is true, learning one style alone takes years of training…at least that's what I read,"_ Angel thought to herself, _"Seraph…what kind of training did you go through to learn two so quickly?"_

"I'm beginning to understand you more now," Seraph said to Jurabi, "Though you are unable to show your emotions, your eyes tell me everything. You want to prove me wrong, don't you?"

"More than that," Jurabi said, "I want to prove my value to you as a fellow classmate and I want to one day prove myself your friend."

"Again with this?" Seraph said, "I told you! Jurabi Alisen is dead!"

"And here's my proof, that he is alive!" Jurabi shouted as he rushed towards Seraph with his Fallen Angel at the ready.

Their swords clashed together again, this time Jurabi had the advantage over Seraph in terms of power.

Seraph was shocked by this, _"He's breaking through my Kodama style?!"_

Jurabi redirected his sword and swung in a manner that forced Seraph's grip on Kitsuki to loosen, making his balance waver enough to leave him open.

"I have you now!" Jurabi shouted as he went in land a blow on Seraph.

"Hm?" Aoife sensed something.

Seraph landed a counter blow on Jurabi's stomach.

"Huh?" Jurabi asked.

Seraph himself had a shocked expression as well.

 **Match Concluded**

 **Winner: Seraph Argyros**

"S-Seraph…won…?" Angel asked.

Everyone was in a state of confusion and shock.

"But that's not right!" Lynae shouted, "Jurabi had the upper hand on him in that one! It would have gone to match-point!"

"Not only that but look at Seraph's posture when he landed the blow," Jack pointed out, "He was off balance and wide open just a second ago, but somehow he's in an attack posture perfectly balanced."

"There's no way he could have repositioned himself like that in just a short window," Acacia said, "Is this some kind of Vulnan Style, Angel?"

"N-no, I've never heard of anything like this," Angel said, "I don't even know what Seraph did."

"Do you know something about this, Professor?" Guendolen asked Aoife.

"…That is a question for another time," Aoife said as she ended the VR session walked into the training room, "Well done, both of you. That was quite an exciting match."

Jurabi and Seraph were both silent—not even reacting to their professor walking in.

"Hellooooo~!" Aoife sung, "Anyone here?"

"Oh, sorry, Professor…" Seraph said.

"Don't be," Aoife said, "You both did a good job, although both you and Jurabi made several errors during your spar."

"What errors?" Seraph said.

"I'm not going to mince any words," Aoife said, "Jurabi, your form, both offensively and defensively, was sloppy. Seraph was easily able to break through your defense and you had trouble breaking through his."

"I see…" Jurabi said.

"Don't let this get to you," Aoife said, "This is actually your first taste at fighting a human one-on-one without your Grimm powers and your armor. You must train more and come to understand how humans fight without armor and Grimm powers."

"Yes, Professor," Jurabi said.

"And Seraph…" Aoife said, turning to Seraph, "Your form was near flawless and you won the sparring match without a scratch."

"Thank you…Professor," Seraph said.

"However…" Aoife said, "Well…I'll save that after you've come to my office for a check-up."

"A check-up?" Seraph asked.

"Yes, it'll be nothing fancy," Aoife said, "Just a quick look at you and you'll be good to go. The rest of you, remain here and try out the VR sparring sessions and other stuff here. Seraph and I will be back in a moment."

"Yes, Professor," Everyone said.

As Aoife and Seraph left the training area, Jurabi stood still, unable to process how he lost the fight.

"Alisen," Guendolen said, "Is everything okay?"

"Y-Yeah," Jurabi said, "I-I'm sorry."

"Would you perhaps like to spar with me?" Guendolen asked, "I'd be interested to teach you some things about fighting."

"Thanks, but…I'll pass," Jurabi said as he began to walk away, "I need to be alone for a while…"

"Wow, Jurabi seems to be out of it," Acacia said, "His loss against Seraph must have hit him hard."

"No, I do not think Alisen is like this because he lost," Guendolen said, remembering the words Jurabi said to Seraph.

" _I want to prove my value to you as a fellow classmate and I want to one day prove myself your friend."_

" _How cruel of Argyros…"_ Guendolen thought to herself, _"Are most Vulna like that? Acting like battle alone decides a person's worth to another?"_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Aoife Chanadani's Office~~_

"Ow!" Seraph shouted as Aoife pulled out a strand of his hair.

"There we go," Aoife said, "Just needed that one strand of hair."

"I thought you said this was going to be a small check-up!" Seraph shouted.

"It is," Aoife said, "I didn't say it wasn't going to hurt."

"You could have warned me, Professor," Seraph said.

"I could…but I decided not to," Aoife said, "Not after you challenged Jurabi to an absolutely pointless sparring match."

"Pointless?" Seraph asked.

"You think I didn't notice?" Aoife asked, "As your professor, it is my duty to recognize if any of my students have any issues whatsoever. The moment you asked for a one-on-one sparring match and I looked at you in the eyes, I knew what you actually wanted. You wanted to test Jurabi. I know of the Argyros way of gaining favor for a person is through battle. So is it safe to assume that you, for some reason, don't recognize Jurabi as your fellow classmate, let alone your friend?"

"…Yes, you're right Professor," Seraph said, "I…I wanted to see for myself if the Jurabi I knew was really gone."

"Ah, I see," Aoife said, "I am aware of your history with Jurabi. You, Jurabi, and your sister Lily Argyros. Three young kids who played together ten years ago in Argyros City, until that fateful night."

"…"

"Would you like to know about what happened to Jurabi in his life?" Aoife asked, giving him a serious stare, "I must warn you, it is a story not for the faint of heart. Given your history, Seraph, I'm sure you would understand what Jurabi went through, to some degree."

"Yes, I want to hear it," Seraph said.

And so, Aoife told Seraph everything she knew about Jurabi's history, from Jurabi turning into a Grimm to the death of his parents to the reason why he hated faunus up until his change of heart.

Seraph slammed his hands-on Aoife's desk, "Jurabi's father was murdered?!" He shouted, "That can't be right! The news said that he had died of a heart attack!"

"Do you really trust the news that easily?" Aoife asked, "No, that was a lie to cover up the terrorists who planned that awful night. What the Eclipse are after is still a mystery and few can only take a guess at the moment."

"…So, the way my sister acted that other night…" Seraph muttered to himself.

"What was that?" Aoife asked.

"…I was wondering why Jurabi never came to me or Lily after his parents died," Seraph said, not bringing up what he muttered to himself, "Did he really forget our promise?"

"Perhaps he did, but more to the truth, Jurabi was being manipulated at the time," Aoife said, "He ended up closing his heart, and soon after his ability to feel any positive emotions vanished like dust."

"…Jurabi…" Seraph said.

"So, tell me, Seraph," Aoife said, "Do you still believe that Jurabi is dead even though he was standing right before you? Or will you continue to run away from the truth?"

"Run away? Me?! Is that some kind of joke, Professor?" Seraph asked, "What truth is there for me to run away from?!"

"The truth that Jurabi did make the mistake of believing Gerald's words," Aoife said, "The truth that he did build weapons that slaughtered innocent people. The truth that Jurabi Alisen wanted faunus's to pay because one terrorist killed his own father before his eyes! Your friend wanted people dead! That is the truth you're trying to run away from!"

"…" Seraph's gaze turned towards the ground. He didn't want to believe it, but Aoife's words rung truer than anything he's heard, "What should I do then, Professor? More than anything, I wanted the Jurabi I remembered to somehow still be alive after all this time, but I'm so afraid…afraid that if I ask him and he tells me that he really did do those horrible things…I…"

"Being afraid of the truth is not a bad thing, Seraph," Aoife said, "But _everyone_ , even you and I, must face it regardless. The question now is…Will you face the truth that you fear the most, Seraph Argyros?"

"…"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~5th Floor~~_

Jurabi stood at the same view his mother spoke of years ago. No matter how many times he returned, the memory of him with his mother still sits freshly in his mind as well as the painful reality that he can never remake that memory again with her.

"This isn't easy," Jurabi said to himself, "I had a feeling I would lose so badly against, Seraph, but it still hurts that I wasn't able to prove myself to him."

Seraph had spent the whole day looking for Jurabi and finally found him near the view. Before he approached him, he noticed that Jurabi had a sad, faraway look in his eyes, "…Hey," He said after he worked up the courage to talk to him.

"Oh, Seraph," Jurabi said in shock, "I didn't notice you coming."

"You looking at the sun set?" Seraph asked.

"Yes, I once looked at this very view with my mother ten years ago," Jurabi said, "That was a memory I will never forget."

"…I see," Seraph said.

"I'm sorry, Seraph," Jurabi said, "I still haven't remembered the promise we made. Are you certain we made it with each other?"

"No, forget about it," Seraph said, "Promises are easy to break, so I don't blame you anymore."

"Huh?" Jurabi asked, "Are…you okay, Seraph?"

"Not really," Seraph said, "…Do you have a moment to talk? There's something I need to tell you."

"Of course," Jurabi said.

"Thanks," Seraph said before he took in a deep breath, "Well…to be honest with you, I've never felt okay these past ten years. Not being able to talk to you made them worse."

"What happened?" Jurabi asked.

Seraph looked down, "I…" He sighed, "Too much that my heart wouldn't be able to take it. I…I don't think…"

"You don't need to say anything, Seraph," Jurabi said, "If it really hurts you, then please don't explain any further. You don't owe me anything."

"Jurabi…" Seraph said before he took in a deep breath, "Jurabi, I want to apologize to you."

"Apologize? For what?" Jurabi asked.

"We…we didn't need to spar for you to prove yourself to me, but I forced you to do it anyway," Seraph said, "I just…when I saw you in that room, I felt a rush of heat surge through my body. For the past ten years, I convinced myself all these years that you would never do the horrible things you did. I lied to myself because you were dear to me," Seraph then looked over to Jurabi and said, "Please tell me before I tear myself apart. Is it all true? Did you…really wish for the deaths of faunus's…after your father was murdered?"

"…Yes, I did wish for that," Jurabi answered without hesitation.

"…" Seraph let out a slightly shocked gasp.

"But when I made that wish, Gerald said he would take care of everything so long as I did exactly what he told me to," Jurabi continued, "I came to rely on him, but eventually I found out that he was only using me for his own gains. The faunus' that were killed…I was merely a tool in all of that, but I allowed myself to become a tool for my own misplaced hate."

"Then what caused your change of heart?" Seraph asked, "What could possibly make you go from wishing the death of faunus's to wanting to save their lives?"

"It's a bit of a story, but I'll do my best to be brief," Jurabi said as he took time to explain to Seraph about his circumstances with his kidnapping, his near death, and that Rachel, a faunus, saved his life.

"A faunus, who had every right to wish you dead, saved your life?" Seraph asked.

"That's right," Jurabi said, "I still owe Rachel more than I can even imagine. She died giving me the chance to make my escape from that hell. She told me now to waste my life. It was then that I realized I was wrong about the faunus. They never deserved the hatred I had placed upon them, nor did they deserve such a tragedy as Hellavese. So I stopped manufacturing weapons and found a way to protect them from the Twilight Syndicate."

"…"

"Seraph, words cannot describe how sorry I am," Jurabi continued, "To all of faunus kind, to Rachel, to my parents…and to you, most of all. You needed my help, but I wasn't there for you. I allowed myself to be trapped in my own darkness that I failed to see the darkness that was ruining your life. I am sorry that I failed you as your best friend. If you want to let out all your anger on me, do it now before anyone notices. You have that right just as much as anyone else."

Seraph didn't say anything. He clenched his fist and let out a deep breath.

" _But before you go, Jurabi…let's make a promise."_

" _A promise…?" Jurabi asked._

"… _Let's one day…become Vastel's Guardians together when we're adults," Seraph said, "That'll make up for today's rain check."_

 _Jurabi's eyes beamed up in excitement as he nodded, "Thank you, Seraph!"_

 _"Don't mention it," Seraph said, "That's what friends are for!"_

 _"Yeah, it's a promise!" Jurabi shouted._

Seraph loosened the energy he put into his fist before gently wrapped his right arm around Jurabi, imitating a half-way hug.

This action left Jurabi stunned into silence.

"It really is you…" Seraph said, letting out a relieved expression, "Jurabi."

"Seraph…"

"I'm mad at you. So, _so_ , mad at you," Seraph said, gritting his teeth…but then he let out a smile as tears streamed down his cheeks, "But right now…I couldn't be any happier to have you back!"

Jurabi nodded, "That's right, and I'm here to stay, Seraph. That's what friends are for, right?"

Hearing those words made Seraph remember the promise he and Jurabi made all those years ago.

That was the promise that Jurabi forgot.

Seraph could tell him right there and then, but he saw no reason to…for the promise had already been fulfilled.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Aoife Chanadani's Office~~_

"Interesting…" Aoife said, staring at the results of the test she did on Seraph, "A lot sooner than I anticipated. No wonder Seraph won that fight the way he did. Something clearly happened in his perspective, but it's a shame I forgot to ask him what it was. Well, I'll have to ask him tomorrow. But there's no doubt in my mind. The reading is faint, but there's no mistaking it."

…

…

…

"A Semblance Awakening."

* * *

 **Tobira no Mukō e ("To the Other Side of the Door") by YeLLOW Generation**

 ** _Jurabi: Heeeeeeeelloooooooooooo~! This is Jurabi Therion, here with another chapter of The World of Vastel! I hope you all liked this remake chapter. Had to do quite a few changes, especially with Seraph and Lily since Lily had not been introduced at this point in the rewrite version though she was in a portion of the Therion Arc._**

 ** _But back on topic, I said before that the seven oc's reminded me a lot of Fire Emblem Three Houses characters a lot and I said that Seraph reminded me of Felix. Well…he gives me Felix vibes, but…they're not really the same character personality wise. For one he's not cold on the outside. It was literally stated in his bio that he is friendly and outgoing, and he is. He's friendly to Lynae and the other students and I tried to capture that a little more in this chapter._**

 ** _Moving on, I think I finally decided what I am going to do for the special attacks of this story. I am not going to have the characters shout them out. Instead, when I first introduce a new attack, I'll have a separate paragraph dedicated to the name of that attack. Then afterwards, I'll just narrate the names. That way we don't have to worry about the weirdness of the name shouting._**

 ** _Anyways, guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter! If you did, please let me know in the reviews and leave a favorite and a follow and also join me on my own discord server to have a nice chat. Thank you very much for reading. See you next chapter~!_**

 ** _Discord: (h) (t) (t) (p) (s) : / / discord . gg / yds39Vc_**


	10. Vastel Arc Chp 3: Angel Sky

**As requested by ShinagamiMaster, here's a list of Voice Actors (VA) for the Class of B-8 plus Lily Argyros.**

 **Jurabi Therion: Vic Mignogna (Edward Elric [Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood])**

 **Seraph Argyros: Johnny Yong Bosch (Lelouch [Code Geass])**

 **Angel Sky: Brittney Karbowski (Wendy Marvell [Fairy Tail])**

 **Lynae Kyanos: Ashly Burch (Aloy [Horizon Zero Dawn])**

 **Guendolen Pretorious: Christine Marie Cabanos (Karin [Fairy Fencer])**

 **Acacia Aurora Woods: Allegra Clark (Dorothea Arnault [Fire Emblem Three Houses])**

 **Jack Starfeld: Todd Haberkorn (Natsu Dragneel [Fairy Tail])**

 **Dourado Ouro: Matthew Mercer (Jotaro Kujo [Jojo's Bizarre Adventure])**

 **Aoife Chandani: Samantha Ireland (Nora [RWBY])**

 **Lily Argyros: Luci Christian (Nami [One Piece])**

* * *

 **Vastel Arc Chp. 3: Angel Sky**

 _~~Vastel Academy~~_

 _~~Yesterday~~_

 **Match Concluded**

 **Winner: Seraph Argyros**

"S-Seraph…won…?" Angel asked.

Everyone was in a state of confusion and shock.

"But that's not right!" Lynae shouted, "Jurabi had the upper hand on him in that one! It would have gone to match-point!"

"Not only that but look at Seraph's posture when he landed the blow," Jack pointed out, "He was off balance and wide open just a second ago, but somehow he's in an attack posture perfectly balanced."

"There's no way he could have repositioned himself like that in just a short window," Acacia said, "Is this some kind of Vulnan Style, Angel?"

"N-no, I've never heard of anything like this," Angel said, "I don't even know what Seraph did."

"Do you know something about this, Professor?" Guendolen asked Aoife.

"…That is a question for another time," Aoife said as she ended the VR session and walked into the training room, "Well done, both of you. That was quite an exciting match."

As Aoife spoke with Jurabi and Seraph, Angel was still trying to process what had just occurred from her perspective.

 _"Incredible! Seraph's ability to control two of the legendary fighting styles while still being a teenager is astounding. Papa would have such fun with him,"_ Angel thought walking towards the library, _"Hmmm I think I can do some more research on the fighting styles and maybe see if there is a way to help him learn the third style..."_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Half an hour later~~_

After half an hour of testing out the sparring area, Aoife returned and dismissed the class for the day, leaving Angel with a lot of free time.

Angel packed her things up and was heading for the class door thinking about heading to the library to do some studying when Dourado called her name.

"Hey! Angel!" Dourado called out to her.

Angel paused looking back at the really tall giant tiger Fanus. "Y..Yes?" she stuttered out.

"I was wondering if you would like to come watch me work out in the workout lounge," Douardo said, "I really want to check that place out and unfortunately Lynae went to crash in bed early. The others say that they're too busy despite this being our first day here."

Angel twiddled her thumbs nervously thinking this was a chance to make a friend but got scared as a voice screamed inside her head.

"An abomination like you doesn't deserve friends!"

Angel shook the voice away before giving Dourado a sheepish smile. "U..umm I like to... but I was going to go to the L..library before it closed... maybe tomorrow?" she offered instead.

"Aw, you too?" Douado asked, "It's the first day, you know. There's no harm in having some fun for a day before we take our studies seriously."

Angel forced a small laugh. "I know but actually I was going to do some studying on the Vulcan fighting styles and see if there was something I missed in my previous studying," she said, getting excited, speed-talking a bit before yelping, realizing what she had done. "S..so..sorry I must s..sound so b..boring..."

"Ah so you've taken an interest into Seraph too?" Dourado asked, "So what do you think of him? Or maybe it's Jurabi and his underdog aura who got your attention."

Angel blushed a bit. "I-no... I like learning a lot... I've done research on the Ouro fighting styles too ya know..."

"Really?! I'm happy you've taken interest in me too," Dourado said with a smile, "You're like a younger bookworm sister I never had. I'm so proud of you."

Angel perked at that. "He's proud of me! Only papa ever said that to me before!" She smiled fully feeling warmth flood her tiny body but at that moment realizing what would happen if she showed it. "Ummm thank you... I have to go now. S..see you tomorrow Dodo-Nichan" she said rushing out the classroom.

"Wait…" Dourado said, trying to process what she just said, "Did she just...give me a nickname…?" He stayed silent for a while before grinning, "Sweet!"

Angel was almost at the library. She had managed to calm her nerves down, "Man...I didn't think I would lose my cool there…" she said not paying attention to her surroundings and accidentally bumping into someone knocking herself to the ground, "Oh! I-I-I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention!"

Three guys turned around to glare at her before the guy Angel bumped into looked at her and their eyes widened before a creepy smirk filtered across his face. "Well, now if it isn't the shrimpy from the special class with the Grimm freak."

Angel flinched at the look and the guy's use of the word 'freak'. "Please, don't call my classmate that. Y..you don't really know him to judge him like that" she reprimanded getting up to continue on her way.

"This is a surprise," The guy said, "I thought everyone knew of the great Jurabi Alisen. Not only did he kill a lot of people, but he even admitted to being a grimm in public. I'm pretty sure that is enough cause to judge a monster like him."

Angel looked very uncomfortable as the guys moved closer to her. "W..well th..the news could b..be lying. Y...You haven't met him in p..person" she stuttered out. "I...I'm just g..gonna go now."

"I think we have a Grimm sympathizer, Akito," Said one of the boy's next to the leader.

"Indeed we do," Akito said, "The professors have yet to tell us what to do with people who side with humanity's enemy."

"Maybe we should teach this pipsqueak a lesson?" the other boy suggested snickering at the look of horror on Angel's face.

Angel clutched her books to her chest, closing her eyes scared they were going to hit her. While her eyes were closed her hands glowed a very dim blue that only Akito seemed to notice.

Akito smirks as he moves closer leaning over the small girl bending down to whisper in her ear. "I know what you're hiding, if you don't want others to know shrimpy then you better do as I tell you from now on. Got it?"

Angel's eyes widened when she heard his words.

"Judging from your reaction, it seems I hit the mark," Akito said, "I hope you don't think I'm lying." he then whispered, "I'm always honest around faunus's."

Angel felt tears pooling in her eyes as she broke away from him and took off down the hall. _"He knows... He knows..."_ she thought panicking as the tears flowed down her face. As she ran she didn't notice Jurabi and Seraph walking up the hall she ran past and saw her.

"Wasn't that the girl from our class?" Jurabi asked, "What was her name…?"

"Angel Sky I think?" Seraph supplied. "What was she running for?"

"Must be in a hurry, I guess," Jurabi asked before looking at the clock, "Great...it's almost eight. This curfew is going to take some getting used to…"

"Making up with a friend took a lot of your free time, huh?" Seraph jokes.

"Seems like it," Jurabi said as he turned to leave, "I'll be seeing you tomorrow, Seraph."

"Yea, see you in class tomorrow. Sleep well," Seraph said, turning and walking away from him towards his own dorm room.

~~Jurabi's Room~~

Jurabi returned to his room and was about to take time to relax before going to sleep, but suddenly his head began to hurt.

"Ah!" Jurabi stumbled around, losing his balance. He moved quickly over to his bed and sat down, hoping his head would stop hurting, "Why...won't it stop…?" He asked before he blacked out on his bed.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

The next time Jurabi opened his eyes, he found himself inside his room from ten years ago. Back when his parents were around.

"I'm...in my room…?" Jurabi asked, "Is this a dream?"

"Jurabi…" A voice called.

"Huh?" Jurabi asked, looking at the direction of the opened door, "Who's there?" He asked, but there was no answer.

"Jurabi…"

"Th-that voice…" Jurabi whispered as he stood up from his bed and began walking as fast as he could out the room, but it felt as though his legs were moving through a pool of water, "Why am I going so slow…"

Despite the hindrance, Jurabi managed to make it to the living room where none of the lights were turned on. Thinking that this was the same house from ten years ago, Jurabi decided to call out to his family, "Elise?! Mom?! Dad?!"

"Jurabi…" The voice called out, this time it sounded more familiar to Dad.

"Dad?" Jurabi asked as he approached the lone chair standing in the living room. The moment the lights turned on, Jurabi saw a horrifying sight. His father, on the verge of death, "D-Dad?!"

Jurabi then felt something soft in his right hand. He looked over and saw his father's eyeball and began to freak out, "N-no! Not again! Please not again!"

"I'm so sorry...Jurabi…" Nitorin said.

That was when Liviera appeared behind Nitorin with a sadistic smile on her face with her rapier in her hand.

"You! Get away from him!" Jurabi shouted, but he was unable to move to help his father.

Liviera let out an evil giggle as she raised her rapier.

"No! Don't!" Jurabi shouted, trying desperately to move, but couldn't, "Please...don't!"

Liviera didn't hesitate as she plunged her rapier straight through Nitorin's chest.

Jurabi's mind shattered after seeing the blood before he let out an ear-piercing scream.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

"Ah!" Jurabi screamed as he suddenly woke up from his nightmare. He checked his surroundings and confirmed that he was back in reality in his new room. His breath ran heavily and sweat started dripping from his forehead, "...Just….just a nightmare." He rubbed his head and let out a sigh, "How many does that make…? I don't even remember when I lost count…" Jurabi checked the clock which read seven in the morning, "Well, there goes my comforting sleep." He said as he went to get himself ready for the day.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Classroom B-8~~_

Angel made sure she was the first in class the next morning not wanting anyone to notice her redden eyes and the heavy bags. "I cried all night and didn't sleep at all. I just hope I get through the day with no one asking any questions."

"Seriously, Jurabi, are you sure you're okay?" Seraph asked as he and Jurabi walked through the door, "You look like you didn't get much sleep last night."

"I'm fine, Seraph," Jurabi said, "I just had a bad dream."

"You can dream?" Angel asked curiously and slapped a hand over her mouth blushing really red as she hid her face in her arms. "T..that w..was so r..rude im so sorry" she said rapidly refusing to lift her head up.

"It's okay, Angel," Jurabi said, "I don't really have dreams. Only nightmares really…"

"N-nightmares?" Angel asked relating to that statement.

"But forget about it, how are you, Angel?" Jurabi asked, "We saw you last night."

"Yeah, you looked like you were in a hurry," Seraph said.

Angel flinched at the reminder from yesterday. "I'm f..fine I remembered I.. I had to s..send my m..mother an email about classes and everything... I didn't talk to her the first day like I was supposed to so" she stuttered out internally flinching at saying mother.

"Oh I see," Seraph said, "I didn't mean to ask you something personal. That reminds me, I should at least send my parents an email too, but...I don't know how to work those weird machine thingies."

"Computers, Seraph," Jurabi said, "Don't tell me you still don't know how to use one."

"I know how to turn the power button on," Seraph said.

"Oh really? What does the button look like?" Jurabi asked.

"...The really big Square one on the board," Seraph said.

"That's the Enter button on a keyboard," Jurabi said, shaking his head.

Angel put a hand to her mouth to muffle her giggle but the little bell sound still came out.

"I would be laughing with Angel if I could, Seraph," Jurabi said, "Though I suppose I can't blame you. You never liked anything that took you away from your training."

Seraph blushed before flipping Jurabi off. "Oh shut up techno boy. Elise always said you marry a computer or robot before getting a girlfriend."

"And she's probably right," Jurabi said, "A robot is less likely to get angry at me than a girl."

"You're such a weirdo even as a Grimm," Seraph said as both of them took their seats, "Anyways, there's something I need to talk to you about."

"Which is?" Jurabi asked.

"Our spar match, yesterday," Seraph said, "I've been reading this combat textbook in hopes of piecing together what happened, but so far, no luck."

"Oh then I suggest asking Angel because she was doing research on your fighting techniques after class yesterday" Dourado said, hearing Seraph question as he walked in with Jack and Acacia behind him.

"Angel?" Jurabi asked.

"The girl was going on and on during your spar match about Seraph's techniques," Jack said, "None of us expected her to know that much about your fighting style."

Angel ducked her head shyly again as she fiddled with her hands. "I-I like sharing my knowledge with o-others. To help my fellow classmates understand something that perplexes them is my way of helping. I-I'm very timid b-but I want to c-change myself for a better me," she explains to them, feeling her cheeks blush a light pink.

"Wanting to change yourself into a better you…" Jurabi muttered to himself, "That's...an admirable goal to have."

"Can you also explain to me why the professor decided to yank my hair out, too?" Seraph asked, rubbing his head.

"She plucked your hair?" Jurabi asked, looking towards Seraph's hair, noticing that it's missing a strand of hair.

"It...was painful," Seraph said, wincing from the pain, "I'd rather not talk about it."

"You're not going to die or anything, Sephy," Aoife said entering the room, "It was all for a little testing I'm doing in my office~!"

"Testing?" Acacia asked, "I never took you to be a scientist, Professor."

"Wait, Seraph, why did you leave her office without asking her about her reasoning?" Jurabi asked.

"Seraph's eyes darted to the side, away from Jurabi's gaze as he tapped his finger on his book, "Well...I wanted to talk to you as soon as she told me about what happened to you. It completely slipped my mind."

"Teehee…" Aoife let out a little giggle after hearing that, "Looks like Sephy cares for you, Jubi."

"Please don't call me/him that," Both Jurabi and Seraph said simultaneously.

"Ah...tough students, I see," Aoife said before she let out a yawn while watching the rest of the class enter the room, "Too bad I'm the teacher and what I say goes," she teased sticking her tongue out at them.

"You sound extremely tired under all that energy, Professor," Guendolen said, hearing the yawn after entering the room, "Did something happen?"

"Well, you see, my dearest students, I had to do a lot of paperwork last night due to the sparring match Seraph and Jurabi had yesterday," Aoife explained, "I wasn't able to…" She let out a loud yawn, "...get much sleep."

"Geez, you didn't just take a raincheck with the paperwork?" Seraph asked.

"How could I? With the uptight Director of ours and his hound-I mean-assistant of his, missing paperwork is a one-way trip to getting my butt penalized!" Aoife shouted.

Angel seeing her teacher looking a mess reached into her lunch bag and pulled out a thermos. It held a blend of warm soothing tea she made of natural herbs to boost the metabolism and calm the nerves of those who drink it. Walking shyly up to the front she placed the container on Ms. Aoife's desk. "T-this tea should help you feel better ma'am," the small lass said quietly.

"Ah! Thank you so much, my little Angel~!" Aoife cheered despite how tired she was. She gratefully took Angel's tea and drank it quickly, even though it tasted a bit bitter, "Blegck! Bitter!"

Angel giggled behind her hand. "Ms. Aoife you're supposed to add honey to it first" she said pointing to the pouch of honey hanging from the container.

Aoife blinked for a good two seconds, "Ah...so I was," She said, making everyone (not Jurabi) else in the class laugh a little, "The good news is I'm feeling like a new me now! Thank you so much for the wonderful tea, Ms. Sky." Aoife extended her hand to try and pat Angel's head.

However...in Angel's perspective, a memory of another woman holding out her hand towards her flashed in her mind, causing her to back away, breathing heavily.

Everyone else was shocked and confused by this sudden action Angel took, Aoife especially.

"...O-okay, sorry to cause any issue for you, Ms. Sky," Aoife said, a hint of sadness in her voice before she gave a smile, "You may return to your seat."

"I-I'm s-sorry, Professor," Angel said as she bowed respectfully before returning to her seat.

Seraph silently watched Angel return to her seat before turning to Jurabi and whispered, "Did you feel something in that moment, Jurabi?"

Jurabi nodded, "Yes, negative emotions coming from her. Fear...and guilt?"

"Guilt?" Seraph asked, "What's there for her to be guilty about?"

"Hmm, I can't say," Jurabi said, "But I'll try and talk to her after the lecture."

"Are you certain you'll be able to?" Seraph asked, "I'm not one to judge a book by it's cover, but that girl seems like she's built walls around her."

"So we both agree," Jurabi said, "But still, it wouldn't hurt to try."

Angel remained quiet throughout the rest of the lesson working on calming her racing heart. "Be cool Angel... She can't get to you here. Here you're safe," she repeated over and over inside her mind making sure her beanie hat was pulled down tightly. "No one knows you're safe..."

Aofie was watching Angel, but didn't let her concern show on her face. "Alrighty class~ Let's get this lecture started!"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Lunchtime~~_

"Okay, that should be enough for now," Aoife said, putting a hold on the lecture, "Everyday, you all will have an hour long lunch break, so I expect you to be here after an hour has passed. You may eat anywhere as long as it is not the restricted areas in the academy, and please be sure not to leave a mess for the janitors."

"Ugh, lunch time," Acacia said, "I remember how sloppy my middle school lunch was. Tasted like prison food."

"I've had much worse in my life," Jack said with a shrug, "How bad can it be."

"Oh you don't even know half of it," Acacia said, "And I do wonder what this "worse" you are referring to."

"You guys could use some optimism," Dourado said, "Lunchtime is like the second best time of the day. You get to eat some food and talk with people. What more could you want?"

"No thanks," Guendolen said, "I will be following the small girl's lead and eating on my own."

"Small girl? You mean Angel, Guendolen?" Jurabi asked.

"Yes, when Professor Chandani announced our dismissal she went out the back entrance" Guendolen told him.

"I figured as much," Jurabi said, "I was told she had a hard time making friends."

"And what about you, Jurabi?" Seraph asked, "I heard that people are weary about lunchtime."

"Is it because of me?" Jurabi asked.

"Yes it is, though I can't say I blame them," Jack said, "No one's eaten with a Grimm before."

"Oh come on, Jack, you didn't need to say that in his face," Acacia said.

"Yea man! What the hell not cool" Lynae yelled at him.

"I'm only saying what's on other people's minds," Jack said, "I don't mean any offense, Alisen, but...your bad reputation really coming back to bite you in the ass."

"None taken. Then I shall eat on the roof away from the others. I have packed my own food anyway in just this situation where to transpire," Jurabi said.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Rooftop~~_

Jurabi had arrived at the rooftop after asking his classmates for the directions, "Never thought I would be eating alone. For once I'm starting to miss eating with my sister….for once, anyways."

"You know if you talk to yourself that's a sign of insanity," came a soft voice behind him.

"Ah!" Jurabi shouted as he jumped forward and turned around to see Angel sitting against the fence barrier behind him, "Oh, Angel. It's you."

"Wow, y-you're an all powerful Zenith Grimm...b-but a girl like me can scare you?" Angel asked.

"Not scared... Just really surprised me," Jurabi corrected.

"Oh, so that's what that scream was," Angel said with a giggle.

Jurabi coughed into his hand looking away. If his face could express it might have shown embarrassment but it was the same stoic facial feature. "Anyway, why are you up here by yourself?"

"I couldn't eat in the library so I came up here to feel the wind," Angel explained.

"Why not the cafeteria?" Jurabi asked, "It's not like you'll be rejected by everyone like me."

"Depends on who you ask about that" Angel said under her breath. "I'm not much for crowds and too much noise. I like the peace and quiet to read or sketch," she said pointing to her sketchbook.

"Seems like we have something in common," Jurabi said, "I hate crowds too. Can never think about my plans because of them. So would you mind if I ate silently with you?"

Angel looked apprehensive at first, but gave a small nod. "Sure, free rooftop and all."

"I appreciate it," Jurabi said, leaning up against the fence.

"First you can dream, now you can eat too?" Angel asked, "A-are you sure you're a Grimm?"

"Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I question it," Jurabi said, "I wish I wasn't a Grimm, but...reality can really be harsh when you wish for kindness."

Angel looked thoughtful before she fiddled with her hands before turning to him. "Can I... Can I try something?" she asked.

"Try what?" Jurabi asked.

"Just a theory I've been working on since I saw you in the sn... NEWS! Since i saw you in the news" Angel confessed, laughing really nervously. "I kind of been doing some research on emotions and trauma."

"You sure do a lot of research," Jurabi pointed out.

"Books have always been my friend. I grew up not having them so reading and learning gave me something to look forward to," Angel explained. "So, can I do my experiment?" she asked, getting a happy gleam in her eyes.

Jurabi scratched his head a little, wondering if it was even a good idea to agree, but eventually he nodded, "Go right ahead."

"Of course," Angel said, "Now, I need you to close your eyes."

"Okay, hold up," Jurabi said, "I heard that if a person asks you to close your eyes, bad things will happen."

Angel looked at him in the eye. "Do you think I would hurt you?"

"N-no, I…" Jurabi didn't know what to say as he let out a sigh and closed his eyes instead.

"Okay, so I want you to picture happy things. What makes you happy? Then I want you to think about the happiest memory you ever experienced and tell me about it." Angel explained grabbing her sketchbook.

"Happy things?" Jurabi asked, "Angel, I'm a Grimm. Grimm don't think happy things."

"You were human first, right? You remember dreams so remember your memories" Angel insisted.

"My memories…" Jurabi whispered as he thought back to the times when he was young. When his parents were there, reading him his favorite bedtime story.

"Keep your eyes closed. Keep thinking, bring them to the forefront of your mind" Angel said softly coxing him gently. "Tell me what you get."

"M-mommy...Daddy…" Jurabi whispered, "They're reading me my favorite bedtime story as a kid…I was always happy hearing it no matter how many times I heard it."

"Good. What do you parents look like in your memory?"

"The most loving people in the world," Jurabi answered, "Sometimes they bantered during stories. Dad would make his bad dad jokes and mom would scold him for it while I never understood what they even were."

Angel watched as Jurabi's face was relaxing and going soft not covered in the hard lines, but still emotionless but less stoic. "Good. Good they sound like amazing parents. Were you happy? Did you feel loved by them?"

"I did," Jurabi answered, "Every day I felt loved and I always loved them back. It never crossed my mind to do anything but love them…"

Angel saw Jurabi's mouth twitch at the corners and she let out a really sharp gasp. _"Oh my goodness!"_ she thought as she began to sketch his face.

"But then...everything changed," Jurabi continued, beginning to drift off, "I...I was on a visit to my dad's work. Some bad people brought me into a chamber and I saw this sword and I…"

Angel grabbed Jurabi's shoulder to shake him from the bad memory. "Jurabi, bad thoughts," she said bopping him on the head with her sketchbook.

"Ow!" Jurabi shouted as he was knocked out of his trance, "You said nothing bad was going to happen!"

"You deviated from the experiment. I didn't want you to remember bad memories that hurt," Angel said.

"You told me to think of my happiest moments and all I did was think of my parents!" Jurabi shouted, getting angier, "I thought about my Dad...and then...then…" He said as his tone grew softer as the image of his death flashed through his mind.

"You started to remember the bad things. Your face started to grow hard again so I wanted to snap you out of the trance before you went too far in" Angel explained to him.

"..." Jurabi let out a deep breath before he sat down, "I...I'm sorry, Angel. I...I can't do it."

"Don't be sorry, because Jurabi you can... I think you can really smile again and feel happiness" Angel said excitedly.

"You don't understand…" Jurabi said holding his head in his hands, "I will never feel happiness again. Ever since that night...that night I saw my father get tortured and killed before my eyes...I never had a single good dream for ten years. If I so much as look at his name, that memory comes back and beats my soul within an inch of its life! And you know what's worse? There's nothing I can do about it. I will always be haunted by that night.."

Angel looked down feeling pain for him. "I know that feeling very well, the guilt of losing a parent, it's a dark and nasty feeling that weighs you down like an anchor trying to drag you to the deepest and darkest depths of a pitch black ocean" she said standing up looking out across the roof. "You think nothing in this world will heal you and that darkness is all you'll see and it's suffocating, but I believe there's something out there that makes that feeling go away, Jurabi. Something that heals the deepest scars in your heart," she said holding her sketchbook to her chest.

"...you're really saying this to a Grimm?" Jurabi asked. "What could possibly heal a grimm like me?"

"No…." Angel said, shaking her head, "Not a grimm. I'm saying this to you, Jurabi." She said turning her sketchbook over to Jurabi to show him the soft almost smile on his face when he was remembering his love for his parents.

"You're a good artist," Jurabi commented on how good he looked, "But, I think you made my lips too big." Not believing that was his actual face.

"The mouth and eyes as exactly as it was and this is proof you can smile, that you can be happy again. Because you, mister Jurabi Alisen are not just a Grimm. You are human. You just forgot what being a human was" Angel declared adding in his hair before giving him the sketch as she started to leave. "See you in class."

"I just...forgot?" Jurabi asked himself as he looked at his food, "Ah shoot! Lunch is almost over!"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

Angel was walking back to the classroom humming happily proud that her idea might actually work. "It wasn't a smile, but I think that's the closest he's come to one in a long time. So, it's in there he just needs to find something to bring it out. But if it's not happy memories, what could it be?"

As she rounded a corner she was grabbed from behind and got slammed into a wall. She went to let out a scream but her mouth was covered and she saw that it was Akito that grabbed her.

"Hello, little miss lying faunas. I think you and I have something very important to talk about. So, during the next free period you better come find me in the library or you won't like what will happen if you don't," Akito threatened grabbing her by the top of her beanie where a Lynx ear sat twisting it painfully.

"C-Can't we talk about it...h-here?" Angel asked, feeling her skin shiver in fright and resisted screaming in pain.

"I have no time for useless questions," Akito said, "Come to the library, or everyone will know your secret. Do I make myself clear?"

On instinct, Angel nodded as Akito let her beanie and ear go.

"And remember, no squealing to anyone," Akito said, giving her one last cold glare before walking away.

Angel slid down the wall burying her face in her knees as she cried, _"S-Stay strong...Angel...whatever it is he wants...it can't be that bad, r-right?"_ She thought to herself as she worked up the courage to stand up again, "I can't let anyone know about my secret...if they do, they'll know who I am and then…" She clenched her fists as she wiped her tears away and began walking forward, however, she was so focused on what's a head that she ended up bumping into someone who bumped into her from the left.

"Ow!" Angel screamed.

"Whoops, sorry about that, Angel, I wasn't paying attention," A familiar voice said as Angel looked up to see Seraph, who had already extended his hand to help her up. She hesitated, but took his hand and was helped back to her feet.

"Th-thank you, Seraph," Angel said.

"Is Jurabi not with you?" Seraph asked, "I figured he would be trying to get to know you better by eating with you."

Angel was surprised by that information. "Get to know me? Why I'm not someone special to know/"

"Really? I doubt that," Seraph said, casually putting his hands behind his back, "We're practically the last line of defense for humanity against a looming threat of the Grimm. No way there's one of us here who's just a normal person."

"Are Grimm really the only monsters out there though? You'll be surprised what monsters are really out there" Angel said, getting a sad look in her eyes as she walked away.

"I was just trying to lighten the mood," Seraph said, wondering if he said anything offensive, "Of course there are more threats to the world than just the Grimm. I'm just saying that all of us are special in some way, even you."

"Nah, I'm not special. I'm boring, timid and nerdy, but I think it's nice that you think I can be special" Angel said.

"Okay, seriously Angel, stop," Seraph said seriously, "What happened?"

Angel gave him a sad smile. "Just something I was always told, nothing to worry about. It's in the past. Come on the bells going to ring soon."

"The Professor and the others can wait," Seraph said, refusing to budge, "Don't think I don't notice the remains of tears on your cheeks. You were crying earlier, weren't you?"

"S-Seraph...please…" Angel whispered.

"Angel, I just want to help you as a classmate," Seraph said, "If it was Jurabi who said something bad to you then-"

"IT WASN'T HIM. JUST LEAVE ME ALONE ABOUT IT!" Angel yelled, running away from him not able to handle someone being kind to her. "When someones kind they get hurt. Just stay away. Being alone keeps others safe and yourself Angel you know that." she scolded herself.

"Angel! Wait!" Seraph shouted as he heard Jurabi walking behind him.

"I heard shouting. What happened, Seraph?" Jurabi asked.

"I should be asking you that, Jurabi," Seraph asked, shooting a glare at Jurabi, "What did you say to Angel?"

"What did I say?" Jurabi asked.

"I saw tear marks on her cheeks when I spoke to her and she was acting as if she saw a Zenith Grimm," Seraph said.

"I mean...I am a Zenith Grimm…technically..." Jurabi corrected.

"I MEAN THE BAD SIDE YOU STOIC DUMMY!" Seraph shouted.

"Okay, first, calm down, Seraph," Jurabi said.

Seraph thumped his head against the wall. "Ah I just wanted to help, she was crying... I don't like seeing a girl cry..."

"Oh, that's right. You're never calm when a girl cries, I forgot about that…" Jurabi said, "Okay, just explain to me what happened."

Seraph went on to explain to Jurabi what happened when he encountered Angel.

"She was acting strange?" Jurabi asked, "But I spoke to her like two minutes ago. She was acting pretty normal or what I think is her normal."

"So you swear you didn't make her cry," Seraph asked.

"I swear on my name that I didn't," Jurabi said.

"Good, because I did not want to beat you to a bloody pulp," Seraph said.

"Why am I the first one to get blamed? But anyway, look at this" Jurabi said showing Seraph the sketch Angel drew.

"Why in the world do your lips look like inflated balloons?" Seraph asked, raising an eyebrow.

"My lips are not that big!" Jurabi shouted, "Regardless, this is what Angel drew for me. Now why in the world would she draw for me and leave that drawing for me if I said anything that might upset her?"

"Wait, she drew this? Did you? Did you almost smile?!" Seraph yelled seeing the softest in his face.

"...I...I don't know…" Jurabi said, "Maybe I felt my lips twitch a little..."

"But...But I thought you couldn't? Like feel anything positive?" Seraph questioned.

"I thought so too, but…" Jurabi said, looking at the drawing, "If this is really what Angel saw...then I have to ask her."

"Ask her what?" Seraph asked.

"Ask her to help me smile again," Jurabi said.

"She likely won't be happy to see us pestering her," Seraph said.

"Hmm...if Angel was acting strange, then something is going on that we don't know about," Jurabi said, "I know I'm about to say something stupid, but next free time, let's just follow her."

"Okay I know you suck at emotions and it's not your fault but if we get caught spying on her that's a one way ticket to pissing her off and her totally not speaking to us for a really long time" Seraph tells him.

"Not all the way into the bathrooms, Seraph!" Jurabi said, giving Seraph the look of shame.

"WHO SAID THE BATHROOM YOU DUMBASS I MEANT IN GENERAL!" Seraph yelled feeling his cheeks heat up.

"Don't lie, you were thinking about it," Jurabi said.

"Not until you said something, meaning that you were thinking about it!" Seraph yelled just as the bell rang. "Shit, we're late..."

"Oh boy...the professor is going to drown us for this…" Jurabi groaned.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Classroom B-8~~_

"So do wanna explain why you three are late by like 15 minutes?" Aofie asked, glaring at Jurabi, Searph and Lynae.

"I was napping and the bell woke me up," Lynae said.

"We were...napping too~!" Seraph chimed in.

Jurabi looked at his friend. "Napping? Really?"

"Really, because I didn't see you anywhere in the dorms, Seraph," Dourado blurted out.

 _"Shut up, Dourado!"_ Seraph thought.

Aofie squinted her eyes at the three. "Detention this friday after class no roaming privileges for Saturday either. This is your third day of school children. You do not get to slack off, am I understood?"

"Yes, ma'am…" All three of them said at the same time.

"An almighty Zenith Grimm getting detention. Hahaha…" Jack laughed, "Never thought I'd live to see the day."

"That was just embarrassing to watch…" Acacia sighed.

"Anyways, let us continue on with our lecture," Aoife said as Jurabi, Seraph, and Lynae took their seats for the lecture.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~After Lecture Hours~~_

"And that concludes our lecture today," Aoife said, "Please refer to your notes and be prepared for the Pretest coming up this week. I want you all to be at your best. You are dismissed."

Angel packed up and headed out the back way beelining it for the library.

"Hey, Jurabi," Seraph whispered to Jurabi who was asleep the whole lecture. He sighed and then punched Jurabi on the head, "Wake up!"

"Ah, wha?!" Jurabi asked, "I'm awake!"

"Angel went out the back way we gotta get going" Seraph loudly whispered to him.

"What if the professor catches us?" Jurabi said, "I doubt she's done giving us an earful."

"She fell asleep the minute she dismissed us" Seraph pointed to a snoozing Aofie at her desk.

"Seriously, Professor?" Jurabi asked.

"We can judge her later. Come on!" Seraph ushered, grabbing his arm and hauling him out of class after Angel.

Jurabi and Seraph spent the next few minutes following Angel through the hallways avoiding detection.

"Psst, Seraph," Jurabi whispered.

"What?" Seraph asked.

"You know what this reminds me of?" Jurabi asked.

"Now what, Jurabi?" Seraph asked.

"You ever watched a movie named Honkai Girl?" Jurabi asked, "There's this scene where Honkai Girl steaths through a dark hallway avoiding the zombie honkai creatures that the mad scientists released."

"That sounds like the dumbest movie I have ever heard," Seraph said.

"Well did you watch it?" Jurabi asked.

"No I haven't!" Seraph whispered loudly.

"Wanna watch it sometime?" Jurabi asked.

"Will you shut up and take this seriously?!" Seraph whispered loudly.

"I am, but I also am serious about us watching Honkai Girl. It's a great movie and Angel just went into the library," Jurabi pointed out.

"The library?" Seraph asked.

"Yeah...so about us watching Honkai Girl together..." Jurabi continued.

"Talk about it later. Come on," Seraph stressed going into the library.

Jurabi and Seraph entered the library and saw dozens of people going about their business, but Angel was nowhere in sight.

"Where in the world could she have gone?" Jurabi asked.

"Likely in one of the book aisles," Seraph said, "She's bound to be in one of them."

"Will people be okay with me being here?" Jurabi asked.

"No time to think about that," Seraph said, "Let's just find Angel and see if there is anything up with her."

"Alright, then," Jurabi said as he and Seraph began to slowly check the aisles, "It's going to take a while though…"

Angel didn't know where Akito wanted to meet her so she decided to look for the books she wanted to get yesterday to study Seraph's fighting styles. "I can't believe I yelled at him.. He was just trying to be kind..." She said sadly looking at the book containing what she wanted.

"It's about time you got here, little liar," Akito said as he and his two partners entered the aisle, "You know how much I hate waiting."

"I-I'm sorry...I was a little held up by...my classmates…" Angel said.

"You mean the Grimm freak you were hanging out with on the roof?" Akito asked.

"Y-you saw all of that?" Angel asked.

"Nah I saw him go up there and followed then I saw you and it talking and almost puked the lunch I ate," Akito said, "But after thinking about it I figured you be of use to me."

"Wh-what do you mean…?" Angel asked.

"You are going to help kill that monster," Akito said, smirking at her darkly.

Angel's eyes widened, "K-k-k-kill...Jurabi…?"

"Yes," Akito said, "It didn't occur to me until now, but after that Grimm had his own lunch in his hand, I always wondered: "Why in the world would a grimm eat human food", and that's when the idea hit me. If that Grimm needs to eat human food, that means anything can enter his stomach and affect his body. Even...lethal food."

"Y-You don't mean…"

"Indeed I do," Akito said as he took out a bottle of poison, "You're going to give him poisoned food. This poison is strong enough to kill an elephant ten times over. One bite, and that monster will be dead on the ground. If you don't do it then well you can kiss your secrets goodbye and I do mean all your secrets" he said sweetly touching her shoulder that had her tattoo.

"N-n-no...I'll do anything else...anything but this…" Angel cried.

"You're either going to be a good little girl and kill that freak or I reveal everything. Am i understood?" Akito asked, losing his sweet voice grabbing Angel by her throat. "And don't make me repeat myself again" he warned, squeezing her throat to show what he meant.

"B-b-but what did he do...to deserve being killed like this…?" Angel asked, "H-he's not the monster that you think he is…"

Akito slapped her harshly against the face. "Don't you dare defend that freak!" he yelled just as Seraph and Jurabi came around the corner when he slapped her.

"Angel!" Jurabi shouted.

"Get your filthy hands off of her!" Seraph shouted as they both marched over to them.

Angel jumped up to stand between the two angry men and the bullies. "I'm okay, d..don't w..worry..."

"A slap to the face is anything but okay," Jurabi said, glaring at the boys, "You three. I heard from my friend that Angel was crying after I spoke to her. Were you the ones who did it?!"

Akito smirked as he walked up behind Angel putting his hands on her shoulder slipping one down to put the vial of poison in her back pocket stealthy. "Why, I don't know what you mean. We were just talking to her helping her get a book off the top self and the book hit her" he said casually.

Angel was shaking scared as she felt Akito hands on her but was trying hard to hide it so Jurabi and Seraph wouldn't notice. She felt sick feeling the vial of poison in her pocket.

"Don't play dumb! I had a feeling something strange was wrong with her!" Seraph shouted, "You three are threatening her, aren't you?!"

"If you don't get your hands off of her in the next five seconds, I'll-"

"And you'll do what, oh almighty Ragnarok?" Akito taunted, "You'll kill us? Oh I would love for you to try. I wonder just how scared this poor girl will be seeing our blood splatter on her face."

Angel froze up giving Seraph and Jurabi pleading eyes as she stepped forward to them. "P..please d..don't fight..."

Jurabi was beginning to lose it as the dark atom inhibitor on his neck began to shake.

"Jurabi, don't push it," Seraph said warningly though he was shaking just as bad..

"I don't care!" Jurabi shouted, reaching for the inhibitor wanting badly to tear it off.

Angel surged forward grabbing his hands. "Don't. It's not... I'm not worth you being in pain. P..please let's leave... Please?" she pleaded with them looking scared with tears in her eyes.

Jurabi looked into Angel's pleading eyes. He hated not being able to tear those bullies apart, but because Angel looked so torn, he decided to let it go.

Though his power was being kept in check, Seraph could feel it, _"Incredible. Even with that inhibitor, his Grimm powers were still on the verge of leaking out. If Jurabi didn't have that on, I doubt it would be just them who would be killed here."_

"Yes, be a good little grimm and his sidekick and listen to the girl. Wouldn't want anything bad to come from this little encounter of ours right?" Akito said smirking at the back of Angel's head.

That was when the elderly librarian lady came to the asle, "What is all the commotion?"

"Oh, great…" Seraph whispered.

"Need I remind you all that this is a library," The librarian warned them, "Keep the noises down to a minimum or you will be reported to your professors."

"Yes ma'am we will be making our leave now. Thank you," Angel said grabbing Seraph and Jurabi's hands and pulling them away and out into the halls.

"Take care, Mr. Alisen," Akito said with a smile, "Wouldn't want another death on your hands."

Jurabi simply turned around and sent a deathly glare he could towards the bullies.

The glare was so intense that it caused the other two bullies to stumble back, in fear.

"Wh-what was that…?" One of them asked.

"Did you see the look in his eyes?" The other asked, "It looked like he wouldn't be satisfied with killing us alone."

"Oh stop your whining," Akito said, "That Grimm is all bark and no bite now. A literal dog on a leash."

"B-but...it didn't feel like that was a Grimm looking at us...it felt like….something else entirely," One of the boys said.

"Oh enough with your whining," Akito said with a smile, "Whatever it was, our friend will ensure that Grimm dies tomorrow."

"How can you be so sure of that?" one of them asked.

"Because, when you put a human's entire livelihood at risk, they will do anything to preserve it," Akito said, "Even kill a close friend. That's how we humans are, after all."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

Angel was still holding Jurabi's and Seraph's hands as she dragged them down the halls. Inside she was seething. As she got them down an empty hall when she let their hands go.

Once they were in the clear, Jurabi punched the walls.

"Damn them!" Jurabi shouted.

"I told you to calm down, Jurabi," Seraph said.

"Calm down?! Calm down after what we just saw?!" Jurabi shouted, "And how can you tell me to back off, Seraph?! You would have been the first in line to beat that guy up!"

"I would have loved to get the chance to beat those assholes up, but I chose not to because your life was at risk," Seraph said, "Or did you forget how that collar of yours operates?! It's three strikes for you and you're dead!"

"Who cares?! I'm a monster anyways and so are they!" Jurabi shouted, "It takes a monster to take down another mons-"

Angel turned around and slapped Jurabi as hard as she could, cutting him off. The small girl was shaking as tears fell down her face, no one noticing the faint red glow on her hands. "DON'T SAY THAT! DON'T CALL YOURSELF THAT YOU STUPID DUMMY!"

"...A-Angel…?" Jurabi asked, holding the cheek she just slapped.

"WHY WERE YOU TWO THERE?! YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO DEFEND ME! I DIDN'T ASK FOR HELP. I DON'T WANT IT! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Angel yelled at Jurabi and Seraph angrily.

"Angel, please, we were just worried about you," Seraph said, "We're your classmates. Why wouldn't we want to help you?"

Angel recoiled from the word of help remembering so many things flashing in her mind. The last memory was a man trapped in a fire before everything went dark. "Because I'm not worth anyone dying over! I'm worthless! Angel screamed taking off down the hall with the red glow turning blue.

"Angel, wait!" Jurabi shouted, but she didn't stop at all, "Damnit!"

"What... what just happened?" Seraph asked, unable to understand why Angel was so distraught.

"I...I don't know…" Jurabi said, "If only I knew what is wrong with her."

"I think I might have the answer for you boys," a voice spoke up behind them.

Both of them turned around and saw Aoife standing behind them.

"Professor?" Jurabi asked.

"Follow me to my office boys... We have a lot to talk about" Aofie said, leading them to her office.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Late at night~~_

Angel was laying in her bed tossing and turning in her sleep. She was having terrible nightmares.

The nightmares she was having had her standing in a village as she watched people getting killed left and right. She was running away from people trying to grab her as she bled from her shoulder. As she ran through a whirling snowstorm. "Have to get away...They're all dead because of me... I have to get away..." her inner voice screamed at her over the snow storm.

Soon she felt herself falling down into a darkness that was consuming her and swallowing her up. She felt herself trying to swim up to the light she saw. The light turned into a fire and she saw a man trapped under a beam being burned alive before the scene switched up again to her being back in the snow storm. This time she saw someone laying in the snow heavily wounded but crying. Before the scene changed again to her holding the poison vial opened and saw a dying Jurabi in front of her.

"A...Angel...W..why...?!" gasped the dying dream Jurabi.

"N-no...Jurabi, I didn't-"

Jurabi took his final weezing gasp and died gazing up at Angel with lifeless eyes of hurt and betrayal.

"JURABI NO!" Angel screamed, waking up crying heavily. The small girl grabbed her pillow and started sobbing heavily in it willing the evil images out of her head. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry!"

Angel sobbed for a good while before she finally calmed down enough to look at her clock seeing it was 2am in the morning. Sighing she threw her covers off and decided a late night walk is what she needed. Grabbing her beanies and putting it on as she grabbed a candle.

Angel let out a sigh as she let the lit candle in her hand light her way, "What am I even doing? It's not like walking is going to fix anything. My life as I know it will fall apart if I don't do this...and I yelled at Jurabi and Seraph for trying to help me. What an awful person I've become...I'm so sorry, Papa...I'm so sorry, Jurabi...Seraph…"

Little did Angel know that a silhouette was approaching her from behind. A hand reached out and lightly tapped her on the shoulder.

"Ah!" Angel screamed as she jumped back.

"Boo!" A familiar female voice shouted, who turned out to be Aoife.

"Ms. Aoife you almost gave me a heart attack?!" Angel shouted, having fearful tears in her eyes before she grew concerned. "Wait why are you up at 2am too?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Angie!" Aoife said, "I'm in charge of keeping watch over the girls dorm, after all. Can't be having any bad apples roaming around at night."

Angel turned her head to the side at the nickname. "I had Nightmares..."

"Ah...nightmares are common," Aoife said, "But if that's the reason you're up this late, I can't put the blame on you."

Angel looked at the ground. She wanted to talk about her other problem, but she didn't want her teacher to get suspicious of her. She knew her teacher was a knucklehead but also knew she was very perceptive and the quiet intellectual.

Aoife saw Angel having her internal debate and decided to help lead her into talking to her. "Angel come with me. I think a midnight snack will help quell the night terrors you have," she said smiling sweetly at the girl.

"I-I don't think you should bother with me, Professor," Angel said, "I'm not worth it."

"...Nonsense, you are my student, Angel," Aoife said seriously, "Not only is it my job to make sure my students are safe, I genuinely want you to be safe."

Angel didn't understand why everyone wanted to be kind to her, "I don't understand that. Why? Why do people want to help someone who isn't worth helping?"

"We will talk more in my office," Aoife said.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Aoife's Office~~_

"Here you go," Aoife said, giving Angel a glass of milk and two cookies, "You like chocolate, right?"

"Um...yes," Angel said.

"Good, because I LOVE chocolate," Aoife said, "Whenever I'm feeling down, I always chow down on anything that has chocolate," She then took out a soda can, "And also soda~!"

Angel nodded nibbling on her cookie, "U-uh, professor. You know drinking soda this late is bad for you."

"Teehee, you sound like a long time friend of mine," Aoife said, "She always nagged me about drinking soda so late at night."

"You used nagged as in past tense. Do you not talk to her anymore?" Angel asked.

Aoife let out a deep breath before answering, "I can't talk with her, even if I wanted to."

Angel understood what her teacher meant and stared at her milk glass.

"But enough about me, let's talk about you," Aoife said, "So tell me what you saw in your nightmare?"

"It was just a nightmare, nothing more," Angel said.

"But that's where you are wrong," Aoife said, "A nightmare is the same as a dream, we just call it that whenever something occurs in the dreams that we would normally fear in reality. Dreams are made up of the memories stored in the human brain; therefore, if a person experiences a nightmare, that nightmare must have possessed something that person in particular is afraid of the most whether it be from the past...or a possible omen of the future. So, Angel, what is it that you saw in your nightmare?"

"Death... I dreamt of death" Angel said, not elaborating on the extent of what died or who.

"Is it your death or someone close to you?" Aoife asked.

Angel didn't answer, shaking her head no not wanting to talk about the dream.

"I won't pressure you into saying anymore than you wish to say, Angel," Aoife said, "Must be something important if you are not willing to tell me, your professor. Then again, you've only known me for three days, so I don't mind the hesitation."

Angel tightened her fist around her glass not realizing it was cracking a bit. "I don't know what to do..." she said, closing her eyes as the blow glow from the other day appeared brighter this time.

"That glow…" Aoife whispered before she looked at the glass of milk she gave her, "I can feel your unease being transmitted into that glass of milk I gave you. You are afraid, I know. We all are afraid at one point in our lives, but if we let that fear take us over, our lives will only be worse from then on."

"I am afraid... I'm afraid I'm going to make a wrong choice and it will either hurt me or someone who doesn't deserve to be hurt..." Angel confessed. "I was mean to people who were trying to be nice, but they don't understand what being nice means for them! I'll hurt them I know I will! I can't have friends, I can't have nice things in my life, I don't deserve it!" she cried, dropping the glass of milk as the blue glow intensified as she pressed her hands into her crying eyes.

"See? That's what fear does for you, Angel," Aoife said, "It takes a hold of you, strangles every bit of life away from you until you are no longer able to move. But if you believe that what you fear is no longer there, fear can no longer have a hold on you. Fear is the example of "All bark and no bite", you see."

"B-But…"

"And before you say anything, let me tell you that I was in your shoes in the past, Angel," Aoife said.

"Y-you were?" Angel asked.

"Yes, I don't know my parents. I never met them, and I don't think I ever will," Aoife said, "When I first had the capability of asking, I asked as many people as I could as to how I came to be into this world. No one could tell me the right answer. All I know is that I was left on the side of the road, with no parents to be found with nought but this scar on my face," She said, pointing to the "X" slash on her forehead.

Angel listened to her teacher calming down but the glow was still there. "Ms. Aoife how do you know I don't have parents?"

"Fast forwarding a bit, I grew up in a foster home, surrounded by love, hope, and everything a child could want. There were some twists and turns and I had to save my village from a Grimm attack, but let me get to the part I wanted to talk about." She took out a photo that had her with her teammates, Morgan, Dana, and Ken, "These were my teammates. A goofy bunch they were...we were so inseparable and it didn't feel like anything could separate us...eventually...it happened, but before that, another incident occurred. My father came to bring me back home. At first, I was happy to finally meet my father and hopefully mother, but soon, I came to realize that...he wasn't really my father."

"What do you mean?" Angel asked.

"...I was given a choice. To return with my "father" or let him destroy everyone I loved," Aoife said, "Do you want to know what I chose to do?"

"What?" Angel asked.

"...I let my fear decide for me, and I went back with him," Aoife said, "To protect my friends."

"Oh…" Angel said.

"But then!" Aoife said, "You want to know what happened next?" Aoife then pointed to the woman in the picture, Dana, "This woman, Dana, broke into my father's house, beat him to a bloody pulp, and dragged me back to my real home: here."

"Her?" Angel asked, "She did that?"

"Yep, and get this, she's Jurabi's mother," Aoife said.

"Sh-she is?!" Angel asked.

"Yep, and I have no doubt Jurabi is just like her," Aoife said, "What I am trying to say is that your fear...it means nothing to your friends. They will be there for you, even if that fear threatens your very life. So when the time comes for you to make your choice, your friends will be there to face your fears with you. Do you get me, Angie?"

"Y-yes...yes I do," Angel said, feeling lighter. A white glow was coming from her hands this time.

"Then be ready to make your choice, whenever it may come," Aoife said with a smile, "And when you make it, stick to it with all that you are."

"Yes ma'am..." Angel said.

"And one last thing, Angel…" Aoife said, "You, Jurabi, Seraph, the others, no one is allowed to call any of you monsters or worthless. Not anyone, not even yourselves, because you are all my students."

Angel jumped down and wrapped Aoife in a tight hug. "Th..Thank you...Mafe" she mumbled.

"Hehe, Mafe?" Aoife asked.

Angel blushed. "It's a nickname..." she said embarrassed because of what it means to her. "I'm so not telling her I almost said mama. I'll die of embarrassment."

"Heh, stealing my shtick, aren't you, you naughty little one," Aoife said with a happy smile, "Well, we'll see tomorrow if you can come up with nicknames that are as good as mine."

"You're on~ I already came up with one for Dourado, he's Dodo-Nichan," Angel said proudly.

"Hehe, I like you so much, Angie," Aoife said, "Now, I think it's time for you to go back to bed. I'll take you back."

Angel gave a yawn actually feeling tired now. "Okay Mafe."

"Oh, but there's one last, tintsy, wintsy thing I need from you," Aoife said.

"What is it?" Angel asked.

Aofie let out an evil smile as she grabbed a strand of Angel's hair, "Don't worry, it'll only hurt for an hour at most."

"Wait, Mafe, I don't think-"

Aoife then yanked her hair strand out.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~The Next Morning~~_

"Ow…" Angel rubbed the spot where Aoife pulled out her hair while looking in the mirror, "She said an hour...it's still hurting. Oh well, might as well get ready," She then realized she needs to make an apology lunch for Jurabi and even for Seraph too, "Ugh...but I'm not good at making anything...all I have are some squid legs and...peanut butter...hmm….maybe…"

After Angel finished making the apology lunch, she took out the poison bottle and thought back to what Aoife said to her last night, "Make the choice, and stick to it. Don't let fear stop you." She took a deep breath and then began pouring the poison down the sink hole, far away from the food, "They can ruin my life, get me expelled...but I won't hurt Jurabi. I won't."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Lunchtime~~_

Angel was already on her way to the rooftop when Akito and his goons stopped her.

"I'm sure you're ready to deliver your special meal to the freak right? Because if you don't then you know what happens" he warned her.

She wasn't afraid this time, "Yes, I am aware." She said as she passed by him without a second glance.

Angel got to the roof not seeing anyone and went to sit down. "He might not even come up here today... I know I wouldn't if I had a crazy small person yell at me for no reason..."

"Now didn't you say talking to yourself was a sign of insanity?" Said a familiar voice.

"Ah!" Angel shrieked as she jumped forward, but turned to see Jurabi sitting on the fence.

"Looks like I beat you here, Angel," Jurabi said.

"J-Jurabi, don't scare me like that," Angel said, "I thought you wouldn't come."

"Why wouldn't I come? After all, I need to give you this," Jurabi said, taking out a well made bento box.

"Whoa...look at all that food," Angel said, "It looks so delicious! Did you make it all by yourself?"

"I did," Jurabi said, "Aside from machine building, my father also taught me how to cook. He always said that cooking was like making a machine except with different tools."

Angel scuffed her feet on the ground looking ashamed as she bent low to the ground offering her bento box to him. "I'm so sorry for how I acted yesterday! I had no right to yell at you and Seraph... I... I'm..."

"Angel...you don't really need to apologize," Jurabi said, "I probably scared you when I got so angry at those bullies. I just...I just don't want you to get hurt anymore. Especially when you're trying to help me, a mon-I mean...a classmate."

"You didn't scare me... Well, seeing you angry was kind of scary, but it's more of that you want to be nice to me... When people are nice to me they always get hurt and coming from you I don't deserve you being nice to me," she said, _"Not when I did something really bad to you before..."_ she thought.

"We all make mistakes, at least we get to make up and move on," Jurabi said as he took a look at the squid legs covered in peanut butter, "Ah...so this is my apology gift."

"Y-Yes," Angel said.

"...You sure it's not for Seraph?" Jurabi asked.

"I made some for Seraph too," Angel said, "Where is he anyway?"

"He's helping the Professor with her papers, but he'll be here soon," Jurabi said, taking Angel's gift.

"I'm not much of a cook unless it deer but I think this will be a good combination hehe" Angel giggled.

"Well…!" Jurabi said, picking up a squid leg, "Experimentation is important whether it be in machinery or cooking. Thanks for the meal, Angel." He said as he prepared himself before eating the squid leg whole.

Angel waited with baited breath hoping it tasted okay. "Is it okay?"

Jurabi's eyes widened as he let out a sharp gasp.

"W-well?" Angel asked.

"It's...it's...good," Jurabi said.

"I-it is?!" Angel asked her eyes sparkling happily. "Yay~ I'm so glad you liked it!"

"Yeah, I remember my mother used to feed these to my dad and he always freaked out, but now I don't see what his issue was," Jurabi said as he began eating up the whole dish.

Angel was smiling happily glad he enjoyed the meal she fixed before jumping at the loud bang of the roof door as Akito and his goons appeared looking at her angrily.

"You three!" Jurabi shouted, glaring at Akito.

"What is the meaning of this, you wretch?!" Akito shouted, "Did you not put poison in that meal?!"

"...No, I didn't," Angel said.

"What was that?!" Akito demanded stepping closer to her.

"I SAID! I DIDN'T!" Angel shouted standing up, "I poured the poison down the sink! I refuse to kill Jurabi after the kindness he and Seraph showed me."

Akito grabbed Angel by her shirt, lifting her off the ground. "How dare you defy me. You think that freak is going to protect you? A lying faunus wrench like you?!" he yelled, ripping off Angel's beanie revealing her two Lynx cat ears.

Angel looked absolutely terrified when her beanie hit the ground. "It's over now at least... no more secrets..."

Jurabi immediately grabbed a tight hold on Akito's writs.

"Tch, what's this?" Akito asked, "You're going to attack me, little Grimm? You know what happens when you-"

Jurabi sent him a deathly glare, " **LET HER GO!** "

This time, Akito was frightened by the voice he just heard from Jurabi. It did not sound anything like Jurabi, but more like some sort of demonic creature.

"Wh-what the hell are you?"

"I. Won't. Say. It. Again. **LET HER GO!** "

Akito immediately let go of Angel who hit the ground with a thump as he stumbled back as far away as he could.

"Why…?!" Akito asked while gritting his teeth, "Why would you spare the life of this...thing?! Not only is he a Grimm, but he's also Alisen himself! This man slaughtered innocents and you would spare him?!"

Angel got up off the ground baring her fangs at Akito. "Yes, I spared him and I do it again because he's not just a grimm he's human too! A grimm wouldn't care if someone hurt other people. Jurabi does! So he's not a monster, he's a good person and he's my friend," she yelled at Akito.

"I can't believe what I am hearing!" Akito shouted, turning to Jurabi, "And you! Why aren't you reacting to her secret at all?! She lied to everyone in this school, including you! Yet you protect her regardless?!"

"What you don't understand is that Angel did have that choice to poison that food and kill me," Jurabi said, "She had every right to, given that she's a faunus and a hunter. And to top it all off, no one would have batted an eye, most likely. But she chose to spare me, regardless of everything I've done. Just how another faunus did for me. Those are the kinds of people I would trust with my life, and the kinds of people I would protect from snakes like you."

"Jurabi..." Angel said, touched by his words.

"Disgusting the both of you. But what can I say when you have two social outcasts together. When no one else wants them in this world, the abomination will have someone to care for him."

Angel's eyes began to darken after hearing the word "abomination", "Call Jurabi that...one more time…"

"Or what?" Akito asked, "What can a little runt like you do? Even if you try anything, I'll simply report it as a case of assault to the staff, and since your grimm friend would be involved, he'll likely be executed."

"I'm already going to get expelled for lying, but I won't let you throw anymore slurs at Juju" Angel growled letting her claws come out.

"And you gave it a nickname too, how nauseating," Akito said, "I can do more than get you expelled. I can easily tell the staff that you planned to poison him, little faunus, and that would get you arrested for attempted murder and possession of a dangerous weapon."

"You are not very bright are you? You completely contradicted yourself. If i attack you, you want Juju to go down with me, but in the same breath wanna claim i almost killed him" Angel stated. "In either case I'm still the only one who goes down and I'm more than okay with that."

"Indeed, but the Grimm can't do anything on a leash so I can kill him anytime I want, and you won't be there to save him," Akito said.

But then...the sound of a button being pressed was heard...

"Or what?" Akito's voice asked, "What can a little runt like you do? Even if you try anything, I'll simply report it as a case of assault to the staff, and since your grimm friend would be involved, he'll likely be executed."

"I'm already going to get expelled for lying, but I won't let you throw anymore slurs at Juju" Angel growled letting her claws come out.

"And you gave it a nickname too, how nauseating," Akito said, "I can do more than get you expelled. I can easily tell the staff that you planned to poison him, little faunus, and that would get you arrested for attempted murder and possession of a dangerous weapon."

"You are not very bright are you? You completely contradicted yourself. If i attack you, you want Juju to go down with me, but in the same breath wanna claim i almost killed him" Angel stated. "In either case I'm still the only one who goes down and I'm more than okay with that."

"Indeed, but the Grimm can't do anything on a leash so I can kill him anytime I want, and you won't be there to save him," Akito said.

Akito and his boys turned around and saw Seraph leaning against the opened door with a glare on his face, "If it weren't for the academy's rules, I would have beaten all three of you into a bloody pulp."

"Seraph!" Angel cheered seeing him at the door with the recorder.

"Thanks for blurting out your plans like a bunch of idiots," Seraph asked, "I expected nothing from your intelligence and I am still disappointed."

"Ah- Y-You...wh-a?!" Akito was stunned into complete shock.

"'Ah- Y-You...wha'?" Jurabi quoted, "How come you're all of a sudden unable to talk? Didn't have any trouble with that threat speech you made to my friend and now suddenly you lose the ability of speech. You're a terrible villain. Honkai Girl makes better villains than you."

Seraph face palmed. "Again with the movie, seriously man we have got to get your mind to stay in the game."

"Grr! I won't let grimm talk to me like this!" Akito shouted, "I hope you're happy with this abomination you call a friend."

Angel's face darkened again as she slowly walked to him, "I said…" She bawled her hand into a glowing red fist, "NOT TO CALL JUJU THAT!" she yelled, decking him squarely in the face that sent Akito flying in the wall beside Seraph.

Seraph let out a whistle, "Ten out of fucking ten."

Angel let out a loud huff as she stared at her fist, "Wait...what did I just…"

"Seems like you three are having fun," Said a familiar voice as Aoife arrived at the rooftop, "Having fun with these troublemakers?"

"Mafe I'm the one who hit the guy not Raph and especially not Juju all me" Angel said scared the scene made Jurabi and Seraph look at fault.

Aoife looked over at the unconscious form of Akito, who had his jaw dislocated. She let out a whistle, "You really are like Dana, Angie."

"I got the goods, as you ordered," Seraph said, tossing the voice recorder to Aoife.

After listening to the recording, Aoife nodded and waved her Dust Malika and summoned water chains to hold the bullies down, "Good work Sephy, Jubi. Telling you about their plan and using it against them worked wonders."

"Wait...what you guys knew!" Angel yelled before looking at Jurabi. "You ate that bento knowing it could have been poisoned!" she screamed letting her Lynx ears twitch angrily and her tail came out to flick angrily too.

"Well duh," Jurabi said, "Why else was I not surprised when that asshole took off your beanie," He said as he picked up her beanie and gave it back to her, "The bento part...that was a gamble, but...something told me that you weren't the kind of person who would kill someone to save yourself. You would try your hardest to find a way to make sure no sacrifice is made. That makes you a good person, Angel. A special one, at that."

"I don't understand. Why put trust in me, even if you think I'm not capable of it, but what if I was. You would be dead and that jerk has the last laugh. I'm not trustworthy, I..I.." Angel started sobbing really hard.

"If you're having second thoughts, then you're free to kill me anytime, Angel," Jurabi said, "You'll have to get in line, but you're free to do so. But when you do, you better stick by your choice. That's what my dad always taught me. I'm not standing here having second doubts about my choices, and neither should you."

Angel started smacking Jurabi in the chest as she cried not hard but to vent her frustration. "You're a dummy, I don't want you dead.. I never wanted you dead even back in Hellavese when I found you in the snow I've always picked the choice to save your life, but this is twice I've had that choice stop giving chances to make a choice you jerk" she cried still whacking him and sobbing.

"Wait, Hellavese?" Seraph asked.

"That's the place where I found Jurabi unconscious back when he had disappeared," Aoife asked.

"...Where Rachel lived," Jurabi said, "Wait...you saw me there, Angel?"

"I lived there with Rachel and her family... They took me in when I ran away from home" Angel sniffled.

"That means...that you were there when…" Jurabi couldn't bring him to finish.

Angel nodded moving one of her sleeves down to show a nasty scar on her right shoulder. "The night the Twilight Syndicate attacked and took Rachel I was able to get away, but I couldn't save anyone else..."

"Angel...I...I'm so sorry…" Jurabi said, "They must have attacked Hellavese solely to get Rachel so she could save my life. If I had just been a better person...then you wouldn't have had to go through all that…"

Angel smacked him in the head this time with more strength. "None of the blame game. Yes it was terrible, but I've dealt with worse," she confessed. "We made mistakes and we learn and grow from them. Isn't that what you told me?"

"Yeah, I did tell you that," Jurabi said.

"Good then no feeling sorry for me...Unless I get expelled which might happen then you can feel sorry for me, but only for that" Angel said.

"So what will happen with these three?" Seraph asked, pointing at the three bullies.

"Well...based on this recording, they have attempted murder charges, possession of weapon, blackmail, and submitting a fraudulent application into this academy."

"A fraudulent application?" Jurabi asked.

"Apparently, that leader over there has a semblance called X-Ray Vision," Aoife said.

"A semblance?" Jurabi asked, scratching his head.

"That's how he knew I was faunas! I thought it was because he smelled my pheromones because my scent repellent was wearing off and I gave off a happy scent" Angel screamed.

"Uh...I don't know what that is all about…" Jurabi said, still scratching his head.

"You're so clueless, Jurabi," Seraph said, shaking his head.

"In any case, lying on your application is as serious of a crime as the others I've described, so these three will likely be sent to jail," Aoife said.

"Does...that mean Angel will…" Seraph began.

"Hm? What about, Angie?" Aoife asked, putting Angel's beanie back on her head, "She didn't submit a false application. Not according to the director, anyways."

"You mean...I can stay?!" Angel asked.

"Of course, as long as you make sure that application you sent "stays" true," Aoife said, giving her a wink.

"Oh thank you so much, Mafe," Angel cried, "Thank you so much!"

"Teehee, anything for my students," Aoife said as she began dragging the bullies away, "I'll be busy for the rest of the day so take time today to relax~! Cio~!"

"What a weird professor we have," Seraph said.

Angel tackle hugged Seraph when he wasn't looking. "Thank you so much too Sery! You helped save me too! And I'm so sorry for being so mean and lying about my true race."

"Heh, Sery? First the professor now you?" Seraph asked, giving her a smile as he patted her head.

"You're allowed to have secrets, but don't ever keep your mouth shut when you're being bullied again okay?" Seraph asked, "We're your friends, and we will help you."

"It's just like Mafe said last night," Angel said with a relieved smile.

"Okay How did Mafe come about? I wanna know this," Jurabi asked.

Angel blushed. "I almost called her mama on accident...so I said Mafe at the last minute to save myself the embarrassment..."

"Tchehehe," Seraph chuckled, "That's too cute."

"Yes, too cute, I would be smiling if I could," Jurabi said.

Angel giggled as she pointed to Jurabi's face. "But Juju you are! Well, the soft line twitch smile you did yesterday"

"Holy shit! That picture was accurate!" Seraph proclaimed. "Big lips and all!"

"No it fucking wasn't!" Jurabi shouted.

"You don't like my picture or you," Angel said, looking like she was going to cry.

"That's not what I'm saying I'm just….sensitive about how people draw me," Jurabi said, "But, I will admit one thing, though. That little experiment you did actually worked a little for me."

"Really? How?" Angel asked.

"I'm sure you haven't noticed, but do you remember what I said after I showed you my lunch?" Jurabi asked, "About how I remembered my dad taught me how to cook and how I remember how dad was scared of my mom's squid peanut butter thing."

"Yea?" Angel said not getting where he was going with that.

"Those were moments that made me happy," Jurabi said, "And I remembered them, just like that. And I remembered my dad, without remembering his death this time."

Angel smiled brightly at him. "Then we just have to create new memories that make you feel just like em and I'm sure in no time we can get you to smile just like you did as a kid!" Angel declared pumping her fist in the air.

"So you'll keep helping me?" Jurabi asked.

Angel twirled on her feet giggling happily, "Of course I will. Friends help each other right? And you're my friend Juju. My first real human friend."

"What am I? Chopped liver?" Seraph pouted before getting smothered in a hug from Angel.

"Awww you're my second real friend Sery-Kun" Angel giggled. "I just met Juju first, that's all."

"I don't like the idea of being second…" Seraph said with a pout.

"Oh stop whining, Seraph," Jurabi said.

"By the way, there's something I've been meaning to ask," Seraph said, "What was that squid peanut butter thing?"

"Ah yes, I almost forgot!" Angel said grabbing her apology gift bento for Seraph, "It's for you as an apology. Juju already ate his."

"...This...is for me?" Seraph asked.

"Yep, Juju said it was delicious, right Juju?" Angel asked.

"...U-uh...y-yes...I enjoyed it…." Jurabi said, his skin starting to turn pale.

"Uh, Juju, are you okay," Angel asked.

"Yeah I'm fine, I just...just…" Jurabi's eyes widened as he covered his mouth and ran to the side of the roof.

The sounds of Jurabi vomiting were heard as Seraph slowly gave back Angel the bento gift.

"I'll...put a rain check on that one, Angel," Seraph said.

Angel pouted "Maybe I didn't cook it long enough? Isn't it supposed to be a little pink?"

"OH MY GOD! WHAT THE FUCK?!" Jurabi screamed as he continued vomiting, "WHY DIDN'T YOU WARN ME DAD?!"

"Well, at least you made a Grimm vomit out his meal," Seraph said, putting his hands behind his back while watching Jurabi's suffering with glee, "You learn something new everyday!"

"YOU'RE NEXT AFTER I'M DONE VOMITING, SERAPH!" Jurabi screamed, still vomiting.

Angel felt bad but she couldn't stop herself from giggling as she looked up at the sky feeling a little at peace. "Papa are you watching? I made some friends. Some really good friends."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Later~~_

Aoife had taken Akito and the bullies to the police.

"Thank you for your help, Professor Chandani," The police said.

"It's no problem at all," Aoife said as she smiled at Akito, who was awake, "Have a nice trip to prison~!"

"There's more to that little faunus, than she's telling you, woman," Akito said.

"Oh really?" Aoife asked.

"Yes, aside from being a faunus, it seems she's more special than you realize," Akito said with a smirk, "Just a friendly tidbit. Wouldn't want the Twilight Syndicate to get their hands on her. She's a very special asset indeed."

Aoife eyes hardened. "Are you threatening my student?"

"While in handcuffs, of course not," Akito said, "But I'm sure the moment the boss at that organization gets wind that her child is attending this academy, not a single one of your students will be safe. So you'd best watch your back from now on as well keep an eye on Angel Sky...or should I say, Angel Webber."

Aoife stayed silent before she let out a bone chilling smile and closed her eyes, "Ah, so that's Angel's real name. I had a feeling."

"Y-You did?" Akito asked.

"Of course, I'm Angel's professor," Aoife said, "There's nothing my students can hide from me. And besides, the Twilight Syndicate are the least of my worries," She then leaned in close as her face was close to Akito's, "They not only have just Jurabi to worry about," She then opened her eyes, both of which were completely black, "Because they have me to worry about."

Akito was shocked, horrified, wasn't even able to say a single word at what he just witnessed.

Aoife closed her eyes and smiled, "Cio~!" As the police car drove off, Aoife could hear the screams of Akito.

"That's right...no one is allowed to call my students monsters. Not anyone, not even themselves…" Aoife said as she opened her eyes again, which returned to normal.

"...Because the only true monster…" She said.

…

…

…

"...Is me."

* * *

 **Jurabi Therion: Heeeeeelloooooooo~! This is Jurabi Therion here with another chapter of The World of Vastel! Man I loved rewriting this chapter with my best buddy, LazyfoxLover! I feel like this version of Angel's chapter was much, MUCH, better than the way we did it in the original version.**

 **So I really hope you guys enjoyed this rewrite chapter. Lynae is going to get a rewrite on a smilar level as this, so she'll get as much love as the others got.**

 **And what could be going on with Aoife, I wonder. I hope it's nothing bad.**

 _ **Anyways, guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter! If you did, please let me know in the reviews and leave a favorite and a follow and also join me on my own discord server to have a nice chat. Thank you very much for reading. See you next chapter~!**_

 _ **Discord: (h) (t) (t) (p) (s) : / / discord . gg / yds39Vc**_


	11. Vastel Arc Chp 4: Lynae Kyanos

**Vastel Arc Chp 4: Lynae Kyanos**

 _~~Classroom B-8~~_

 _~~Before Lunchtime~~_

In classroom B-8, Lynae and Dourado were having an intense stare down as Lynae had a light blue aura surging through her body while Dourados aura was yellow.

"This...is an intense match," Acacia said as if she was some kind of sports commentator, "Both sides have one victory and one defeat in their pocket. This one match will be to decide the true winner. Are you both ready?"

Lynae smirked, "Hell yeah."

"I won't be able to face my grandma if I lose this," Dourado said seriously, "Let's do this!"

"Okay," Acacia said as Jack placed his hands over Dourado and Lynae's. Both of their hands were linked together in an arm wrestle, ready to face off in a 2 out of 3 final match, "Ready...Set...Go!"

Jack let go of their hands and the people present in the classroom watched as Lynae and Dourado put every ounce of their strength trying to push their opponents arm down onto the ground. At first, it seemed like Dourado was about to win, but then Lynae began to push her advantage. In response, Dourado put all his might into his arm to push her back.

"Heh, you're a tough bastard!" Lynae said, "By now, I usually have my opponent's arm six feet under, but you've impressed me so far."

"Hehe, thanks," Dourado said, rubbing his head in embarrassment, "I put pride into my arms."

Lynae smirked, "Got ya!" She shouted as she put extra strength into her push and slammed Dourado's arm onto the ground, winning the match.

"And the winner is, Lynae Kyanos!" Acacia shouted.

"What?!" Dourado shouted, "No fair, Lynae! You complimented me to get my guard down!"

"Haha, all is fair in love and war, Dourado," Lynae said, "Or in this case, an arm wrestle match."

"Grr, I'll get you next time," Dourado said, "You can count on it."

"Sure, sure, but now you owe me a slice of your pizza roll at lunch, as promised," Lynae said.

"Not my pizza roll…" Dourado cried.

Guendolen shook her head, _"How did I end up in a classroom of childish adults?"_ She thought to herself.

"Hey! Jurabi, Seraph! Wanna take a crack at the Arm Wrestling Champion?" Lynae asked the two boys, who weren't paying attention at all to what was happening.

"Oh, uh...sorry, maybe next time, Lynae," Seraph said, having his mind on something else entirely.

"Yeah, not today," Jurabi said, seeming as though he was trying to hold in his anger.

"Huh? What's going on with you two?" Jack asked, "Did you get rejected by a girl?"

"Jack, that's not the kind of question you should be asking," Acacia said.

That was when Angel entered the classroom, much later than normal, with a split lip and bruised cheek.

"Hey, Angel, you're here last," Lynae said, "That's a little unusua-" She then notices the wounds on Angel's face, "What the hell happened to you?! Who did this to you?!"

Angel put her hand over her reddened cheek trying to hide behind her hair. "N..nothing.. I..I h...had a book f...fall on my face in the library..." she stuttered out looking sheepish. "I..I'm a k..klutz y..ya know."

Seraph and Jurabi both let out low growling sounds making Angel flinch as she walked passed them quickly to go sit down.

"I don't buy it," Dourado said, "A book falling on you wouldn't cause you to be the last person to come to the room. Is there something you're not telling us?"

'

"Nope. E...everything's fine" Angel said fiddling with her apology bento.

"It definitely is someone," Lynae said, "Look at her. She's too scared to tell us. They likely threatened her to keep her mouth closed. Just tell me their name, Angel, and I'll bring you every single tooth from their mouth!" She said, cracking her knuckles.

"Kyanos, if Sky doesn't want to tell you, then there's no point in pushing her for an answer," Guendolen said, "If anything, you are the one who's scaring her."

"What did you just say to me, Guendolen?" Lynae asked.

"Please do not say my name in such a casual manner," Guendolen said, "It is Pretorius, and I said you're being overbearing and brash about a subject that does not concern you," she said before turning to Angel with a serious look. "Though I do wish if you were going to lie you have more decency to come forth with a better tale then that."

"Screw your last name and screw whatever you said!" Lynae said, "Our classmate needs help and you're telling us to turn our back on her?!"

"P..please d..don't fight... Re...really I c..can handle this... Not something to worry about..." Angel said causing Acacia to frown as she walked over to Angel.

Acacia cupped her face, turning it to get a better look. "Whoever hit you left a handprint. It's small, but easy to spot if you're close enough to see. Even your lip is split open. Please, tell me you reported them at the very least to the campus instructors."

When Angel did not answer and instead looked away, Guendolen spoke up, "As you can see, Sky does not wish to answer. So will you all stop putting pressure onto her."

"I think the only people putting pressure on her is whoever did this to her," Lynae said, getting angrier at how heartless Guendolen was being, "Is it normal tradition for your family to not give a single shit about anyone besides their own kin?!"

"Um, Lynae…" Dourado said, having a bad feeling about where this was going.

"My family's tradition is none of your concern, Kyanos," Guendolen said, "I am not happy in the slightest about someone breaking the school rules and bullying a fellow student here, but like I said, if Sky here believes none of you should get involved then it's her business and no one else's."

Seraph gripped his desk tightly not liking this conversation and he could sense Jurabi was getting angrier the more things were said. Standing up, Seraph grabbed Jurabi by the arm and pulled him up. "We're going to step out for a minute. Tell Professor Chandani we went to the nurse to have them check up on Jurabi."

After both of them left the room Angel put her head down feeling like she was to blame for all the bad feelings in the room. Dourado didn't like seeing her so down but was also aware that if he moved away from Lynae bad things would happen.

"Good job, Almighty Pretorius," Lynae sneered at Guendolen, "Good thing the rules were upheld, just like you wanted."

"I said what needed to be said," Guendolen said, "Nothing more. Besides I don't very much like petty people who show their weakness and lack of a back bone. I will interfere if rules are being broken and I can prevent it, but I will not place myself in the crossfire after the fact."

"Why you stuck up, pompous bitc-!" Lynae started to curse as she moved over to Guendolen only to be snatched up and held back by Dourado.

"What is going on here?" Aoife asked as she walked into the room, hearing the argument.

"Oh, hey professor," Jack said, trying to come up with an explanation as to what happened.

"It's okay, I'll explain," Acacia said as she and Aoife went to the side to speak about what's occurred.

Aoife let out a sigh, "Lynae, Guendolen, both of you will stay after class. I will be gone for a brief moment to handle some...business, but will return shortly to speak with both of you."

"Tch!" Lynae growled, not liking the fact that she got in trouble. It angered even more that Guendolen had no emotional reaction to this either. Just a straight face, _"That bitch...is she a robot or something?! Damn her!"_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Vastel Academy Girls Dorm~~_

 _~~The Next Day~~_

After her argument with Guendolen yesterday, both Lynae and Guendolen were sent to the girl's dorm rooms early to cool themselves before they got into more trouble. Lynae had spent the rest of the day sleeping her anger off, hoping it would go away.

She opened her electric, blue eyes and let out a loud yawn. Her eyes felt the same as usual, intimidating and tired. She let out a loud yawn before dragging herself out of bed and got herself ready for the day.

As she was about to leave the dorm room, she happened upon two girls who were gossiping to one another.

"Did you hear? Apparently that Grimm boy was out causing trouble in the library the other day," One of the girls said.

 _"Grimm? Are they talking about Jurabi?"_ Lynae thought to herself.

"Ugh, really?" The other girl asked in shock, "I knew that kid was nothing but trouble."

"And get this: that girl Angel was there when the incident occurred," The gossip girl said.

"Poor girl," The other girl said with a sigh, "I bet that nasty Grimm threatened her to go with him. You can never trust someone like Alisen with all he and his company had done."

Lynae felt a small surge of anger growing within her as she kept listening to the girls talk badly about her classmates. She quickly noticed this surge and let out a deep breath, "Remember what grandma and grandpa taught you, Lynae. A peaceful mind…tch, like that's going to help me out here. I hope both of them are okay..."

With this thought in her mind, Lynae left the girl's dorm room.

On her way to her class, Lynae ran into a male student harassing a female student, who was in a state of distress.

"Come no, there's no need to be so shy around one such as me," The male student said with a speaking pattern that indicates his high status, "A beauty such as yourself would look lovely with a fresh cup of tea, brewed by Yours Truly."

"U-um...I'm sorry, but I-I have to decline," The shy female student replied, "I need to go to class soon, so…"

The male student grabbed hold of her hand and smiled, "There's nothing wrong with skipping class once in a while. I insist that you come with me, my dear."

"I…" The shy female student was about to give in since she did not have enough courage to say otherwise.

Lynae saw the commotion and was annoyed at the boy's behavior. She walked towards them and glared at the boy, "Hey, are you deaf or something? The girl obviously doesn't want to go with you."

The male student let go of the girl's hand and gave Lynae an annoyed expression, "I beg your pardon? Do you kiss your own mother with that mouth? I suggest you watch your temper, lady, before it gets someone hurt."

"Me? Get someone hurt? Don't make me laugh," Lynae said, "If you know what's good for you, you'll leave her alone."

"If I truly am bothering her, she would have said something by now," The male student rebuttaled as he pointed at Lynae, "It is not your place to decide how other people should feel. Now run along before you cause trouble for all of us."

Lynae was slowly losing her temper. The noble was starting to remind her of Guendolen, which pissed her off even more as she took a firm hold of the male's arm and gave him a bone-chilling glare, "Not my place, you say?"

"Ow, ow, ow! Unhand me this instant!" The male student yelped in pain.

"Look at you talking all high and mighty!" Lynae growled, "You remind me so much of the pieces of shits back in my home kingdom. Even worse, I have a classmate who said those same exact words too."

"This is not how a Staneian noble ought to be treated," The male student said, "This is your last warning, unhand me now!"

"...You're a Staneian nobleman…?" Lynae asked as her eyes went cold and her grip on his arm only tightened, threatening to break his bones.

"M-Ma'am, please...your grip is…" The male student said, starting to sweat as the female student began to shake in fear.

"So when the day comes that I finally release Staneia from this broken system, will you still be willing to become a hunter, Lynae?" Were the words that rang through Lynae's head as she tightened her grip even more.

"Worthless noble garbage like you get to live and prosper, while good men like him died! Every last one of you nobles should have died; not him!" She shouted.

"O-okay! I'm sorry, I am deeply sorry!" The male student broke out in cries, "I-I won't bother her or anyone again! You have my word!"

"Like I would ever believe the words of a filthy noble!" Lynae shouted as her eyes started to glow yellow.

"Please, stop this!" The female student shouted, placing her hands on Lynae's.

That was when Lynae snapped out of her trance and let go of the male noble's arm.

Once his arm was released, the male noble wasted no time running for his dear life.

Lynae looked at her hand, horrified by her actions, "What did I…?"

"...Thank you for your help, Miss," The female student said, "B-but...I-I'm sorry if what I say offends you...but please d-don't get angry like that again. I-I don't want you h-hurting anyone like that. G-goodbye."

"W-wait, I can explain, I-" But Lynae wasn't able to as the female student left in a hurry, almost as if she too was scared for her life. Lynae looked down at the ground, her face racked with guilt, "Damnit…"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Classroom B-8~~_

Lynae was in a state of having conflicted feelings. On one hand, she was racked with guilt, but on the other hand she had pure rage resting in her. She stormed into the classroom still fuming from her encounter with the nobleman, "The nerve of that man. Who did he think he was messing with that girl…!"

"Hey, Lynae~!" Angel greeted Lynae with a happy smile.

Lynae looked up and saw Angel waving to her as she patted the back of a sickly pale Jurabi with Seraph next to her, laughing mercilessly at his friend's suffering.

"...N-No….m-more please…" Jurabi cried.

"Pffftahahahahaaaaa!" Seraph howled in laughter.

"Fuck...you...Seraph…" Jurabi growled.

"Now, now, Juju," Angel said, patting his back, "I think the last of the peanut butter squid is gone now. So you have nothing to worry about...I think…"

"That doesn't make me feel better…" Jurabi groaned.

"Hm...maybe I'll make you some jelly-covered frog legs. Maybe you'll like those more," Angel said.

Then Jurabi's body went limp as he fell over onto the ground.

"Oh my god! Juju!" Angel screamed as she rushed over to Jurabi, trying to wake him up, "Oh no! He's dead!"

"AAAAAAAAHAHAHA!" Seraph laughed even louder as he fell onto the ground as well.

"Oh no….now Series going to die too! Don't worry, Sery, I'll save you!" Angel shouted, "I won't fail you like I did with Juju!"

"Angel...stop saying that I'm dead…" Jurabi groaned.

"Oh...I can still hear his voice…" Angel cried.

"You guys...are absolute idiots…" Lynae said, facepalming, but then she smiled, "But...I am relieved that you're feeling better, Angel."

"Ah yeah, sorry for making you all worry," Angel said, "But it's all handled now."

Angel then proceeds to tell Lynae everything about what happened with the bullies and how Jurabi, Seraph, and Aoife were there to help her. Everything aside from her faunus secret.

"Kick ass! You seriously decked that asshole in the jaw?!" Lynae asked excitedly, "How many of his teeth flew out?"

"I didn't count, but I definitely saw some flying out," Angel said.

"Haha, that's my girl!" Lynae said, wrapping her arm around Angel, "None of us here take no shit from bullies. And it's great that you mention this because here's what happened this morning on my way here."

Lynae proceeded to tell them about what happened with her encounter with the Staneian nobleman harassing the female student.

"Wow, so you almost broke that dude's arm?" Seraph asked.

"Yeah, you should have seen the look on his face," Lynae said, feeling proud of herself, "He was talking all that crap about "How a girl like you shouldn't interfere with the business of a nobleman" or some crap, but the moment I grabbed his arm he was begging for his life!"

"You did what now, Kyanos?" A familiar voice asked.

Everyone turned to see Guendolen, who had just entered the classroom hearing what Lynae said.

"Oh great, it's the Almighty _Pretorius_ ," Lynae said sarcastically.

"I will once again ignore your improper usage of my last name, but not one more," Guendolen said, "So now you have gone and caused harm to a man with nobility in his name? Do you know the consequences that follow with such an action?"

"Uh, the nobleman becomes too scared to leave his room?" Lynae asked, chuckling a little, "Doesn't sound like a consequence to me."

"Of course you wouldn't understand the weight of your actions," Guendolen said with a sigh before turning to Angel, "And Sky, I heard from the Professor what happened. I am sorry you were threatened to be beaten up if you didn't poison Jurabi, but you still should have gone to the professor about it regardless. Listening to those bullies would have sent a message to other students about how weak-willed and easily manipulated you can be."

"What the hell, Guendolen?!" Seraph shouted, "Angel is anything but weak-willed!"

"S-Sery, please don't," Angel pleaded.

"No, I agree with Seraph," Lynae said, angrily pointing at Guendolen, "It's so easy for you to tell people they're weak. Your family has spent the past three thousand years being praised for whatever fucking reason. A reality check for you: You had nothing to do with your ancestors's accomplishments so you don't deserve any respect from me!"

That was when Dourado and the others arrived in the classroom, seeing the commotion.

"Uh oh…" Jack said.

"Not this again," Acacia said.

Guendolen sent Lynae a cold glare after what she said, "I don't deserve respect, you say?"

The moment Jurabi saw that look in Guendolen's eyes, he felt a sharp pain in his head, "Gh!"

Angel turned to her friend worriedly, "Juju? What's wrong?"

"I-It's...nothing…" Jurabi said as the pain went away, "What was that?"

"Ooooh, now the Almighty Pretorius is getting mad!" Lynae said, "Didn't think you could feel anything. Here I was thinking that you were a soulless machine."

"I told you that I wouldn't ignore my family name being used in such a vulgar manner a second time," Guendolen said, immediately returning to her stoic expression, "Perhaps you may not have noticed, but the world is depending on us as hunters to protect it from the Grimm threat. What would people think if they find out that their lives are in the hands of someone as reckless and irresponsible as you?!"

"Girls, that's enough!" Dourado shouted, trying to stop the fight, "The professor will be here soon!"

"They would sooner put their faith in a hunter who understands her duty to the people, rather than a hunter who can't see beyond the range of her punches and kicks," Guendolen said.

That set the dragon faunus off. Lynae has had enough at Guendolen's self-righteous and uppity attitude as she roughly grabs Guendolen by the shirt collar.

"Lynae, stop!" Angel shouted as Jurabi and Seraph stood up and moved to try and stop Lynae from doing something she would regret.

"That does it!" Lynae shouted, "If I can't see beyond my punches and kicks, then you won't mind if I punch that blank stare of yours into oblivion!"

But before she could move her arm, Jurabi and Seraph both grabbed her from behind and pulled her as far away from Guendolen as they could.

"That's enough!" Jurabi shouted.

"Let me go, you assholes!" Lynae shouted, "I need to teach that bitch a lesson!"

"Just get a hold of yourself," Seraph said, "You'll get us all in trouble."

"Guendolen, you were too harsh," Acacia said, giving Guendolen a stern glare.

"Yeah, I think you owe Lynae an apology," Dourado agreed.

"You should listen to them," Jack said, "It'll only get worse if you keep antagonizing her."

"I don't owe anything to someone who would smear my family name into the mud like she did," Guendolen said, "And it is Pretorius. I gave none of you permission to refer to me by my given name."

"Oh come on, cut it out with that crap," Jack said, "We're all on the same side."

"I meant what I said, whether you all agree with me or not," Guendolen said, "That girl is going to get someone killed with her method of solving problems. Unfit behavior for a hunter, if you ask me."

"I dare you to say that to my face, you stuck-up bitch!" Lynae shouted.

"Water Chains!" A voice shouted as water-made chains appeared and locked everyone in the classroom in a bind. Aoife walked into the room with a glare on her face, "You mind telling me what is going on in this room again? It seems every time I'm not present, a fight is about to break out here."

After the situation leading up to this conflict was explained to Aoife, Aoife shook her head.

"I am so disappointed in both of you, Lynae, Guendolen," Aoife said, "We had already spoken about this yesterday, but it seems that talking isn't the option here since you two cannot see eye to eye."

"Damn straight," Lynae said, "I'd rather smear my face with a packet of girly make-up than agree with anything she says."

"And I will not bring shame to the Pretorius name by allowing a ruffian to insult it any further," Guendolen said.

At their words, Aoife pointed Dust Malika at the ground, which caused the chains to yank both Lynae and Guendolen down towards the ground.

"And I don't tolerate arguments between two children. We are hunters-humanity's last line of defense against the Grimm. More importantly, you are all teenagers who will soon become adults. I hate it when people tell me this, but all of you must act your age," Aoife said, "Now then, I will give you both the chance to call off your feud and apologize to each other."

"My pride as a Pretorius will not allow me to live down admitting that I was wrong," Guendolen said.

"I'm not backing down either," Lynae said, "Not to a rule-obsessed girl like her!"

Aoife let out a sigh, "I really don't want to have to give both of you detention for this, but…"

"Wait, Professor," Seraph spoke up, "I have a better proposition. Let's have both of them settle this my family's way."

"The Argyros way?" Jurabi asked.

"You're seriously going to have these two fight each other, Seraph?" Jack asked.

"I'm talking about a one-on-one match. It sorta worked for me and Jurabi, so no reason it shouldn't work for these two," Seraph said.

"A match? Count me in!" Lynae said, glaring at Guendolen, "Anything to put this girl in her place."

"So do you challenge Guendolen to a match, Lynae?" Aoife asked.

"I do," Lynae said, "A one-on-one match. First to three hits wins. No dust usage."

"...Very well, I accept your challenge, Kyanos," Guendolen said.

Aoife sighed as she released them from her water chains, "And just when I got done with the paperwork for the last sparring match. I swear, I feel like you all secretly hate me. Fine, but until further notice, this will be the last time you all get to use the training room for such a purpose."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Training Room~~_

At the training room, Lynae and Guendolen prepare themselves for their one-on-one sparring match.

In the observation room, everyone else is worried that both combatants might take this too far.

"Are you sure it's okay to do this, Seraph?" Jack said, "I know they're both going to use the VR simulator with training weapons, but…"

"I understand your concern, Jack, but I am your professor," Aoife said, "If things go too far, I will step in to stop all of this. I just hope those two can let bygones be bygones no matter who wins."

"Something tells me that won't be the case," Jurabi said.

"Why do you say that, Jurabi?" Acacia asked.

"I can feel negative emotions emanating from Lynae," Jurabi said.

"She just got told that she had unfit behavior for a huntress," Seraph said, "Anyone would be pissed off after hearing that. What about Guendolen?"

"I...I've never been able to feel anything from her," Jurabi said, remembering when Guendolen first asked him to see her emotions.

"You can sense negative emotions?" Guendolen said before remembering that Jurabi was a Grimm, "Ah, Grimm are naturally drawn towards negative emotions so it makes sense that you would be the same. In that case, Alisen, what negative emotions am I feeling?"

"You?" Jurabi asked, turning to Guendolen. He gave her a good scan until he sensed something inside her. When he did, his eyes widened in shock, "Th-that can't be! You…you're…"

"Not a shred of emotion?" Dourado asked.

"Is she like you and unable to express emotion, Juju?" Angel asked.

"No," Jurabi said, "Before, she had this look of anger after Lynae kept insulting her family. I think Guendolen can express her emotions but...she just chooses not to for some reason."

Aoife activated the VR settings and the two eventually found themselves on top of a rocky mountain.

Lynae brought out her blue gauntlets over her fists and her blue combat boots. She had a wave of excitement rushing through her veins, "I've been wanting for a chance to let loose. You ready to lose, Miss Pretorius?!"

"Remember not to overdo it, Kyanos," Guendolen said, unfazed by Lynae's attempt to get a rise out of her, "Even though we are using this room to settle our feud. This is a sparring match, first and foremost."

"I know that!" Lynae shouted, angrily, "Geez, you're such a stickler for the rules and it annoys the shit out of me! Maybe my Cyril will change that."

"Cyril, is that the name of your weapon?" Guendolen asked.

"Yeah, Cyril here helped me earn my spot as the Underground Queen in Staneia, so you better not underestimate us," Lynae said.

"You rely on close combat," Guendolen said as she took out a one-handed shortsword proficiently sharpened and completed with a sun-resembling emblem on the hilt. The blade part of the sword has a small, blue tint in its color. Much to everyone's surprise, the sword possesses no signs of a gun form, making it a traditional weapon, "Blue Hypergiant and I will make this battle swift and painless for you, Kyanos."

 **"Sparring Match: Guendolen Pretorius vs Lynae Kyanos**

 **"First to Land Three Blows Wins"**

 **BEGIN!**

"Here I come!" Lynae shouted as she immediately rushed at Guendolen.

"A head on attack," Guendolen said, moving into a defensive posture and blocked Lynae's punch with her sword, "A predictable approach."

The two were then locked into a clash of kicks and punches from Lynae, all of which were continuously blocked or deflected by Guendolen.

Lynae then jumped high into the air and threw a crashing punch at Guendolen from above.

Guendolen sensed strong power from the punch and quickly jumped out of the way of the target area.

When Lynae's fist hit the ground, it created a huge crater.

"Impressive show of strength," Guendolen said.

"There's more where that came from, Guendolen," Lynae said, "But so far you haven't impressed me. Don't tell me the Pretorius family has gone soft over the long years."

"I see no need to expend more energy than required," Guendolen said, "I have already won this fight the moment you made your fighting style known to me."

"Tch, I'll make you eat those words along with the dirt beneath us!" Lynae shouted as she rushed towards Guendolen again.

In the observation room, the others watched over the fight between Lynae and Guendolen.

"So that's her plan," Angel said.

"What's who's plan?" Jurabi asked.

"Guendolen," Angel said, "I think she's taking advantage of Lynae's anger and using it against her."

"Now that you mention it, Guendolen hasn't attacked Lynae even once," Dourado said.

"She's waiting for Lynae to create an opening to finish this match quickly instead of forcing it out," Seraph said, "In my family, if someone fights you like that, it means they don't consider you an equal."

"Come on, no way Lynae's inferior to Guendolen," Acacia said, "I mean, all she has to do is get in close and Guendolen can't do anything but block. All it will take is one hit."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Acie," Aoife said.

Back at the fight, Lynae was still continuing her offensive on Guendolen, but all attempts to hit the Pretorius ended in failure.

Guendolen was now dodging every attack the dragon faunus sent her way.

"Damnit, either stay still or fight back!" Lynae shouted, "I'm getting bored just throwing punches at the air!"

"...Very well," Guendolen said, "It is my turn to attack."

Before Lynae knew it, Guendolen brought Blue Hypergiant to protect herself from one of Lynae's strong punches and redirected her attack to her left. She then grabbed the combat huntress by her left arm and hit her stomach with the back end of her sword.

 **Guendolen Pretorius: One Point**

"Wh-what?!" Dourado shouted, "She landed a hit?!"

"And it begins," Aoife said.

Lynae grunted a little as she tried to get out of Guendolen's grip, "Damnit! How can someone so small have this strong of a grip?!"

"This is the power of my family, Kyanos," Guendolen said, "Your biggest mistake was underestimating me," She then hit Lynae with a hard knee to the stomach, sending the girl skidding across the ground.

 **Guendolen Pretorius: Two Points**

"Lynae is actually going to lose," Jack said.

"Guendolen wasn't joking when she said the Pretorius family isn't to be made fun of," Jurabi said.

"Angel, have you studied anything on the Pretorius family's fighting style?" Acacia asked.

Angel shook her head, "Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find many records that go into detail on their fighting style. Likely because the Pretorius prefer to keep all information about themselves a well kept secret."

"That's bizarre," Seraph said, "You'd think a family as well-known as them would share such important information with the rest of the world."

Lynae was shaking tremendously as she felt her stomach, where Guendolen landed a hit, "I...I...got hit…twice..."

"Yes, you did," Guendolen said, "I'll make this final strike quick."

"I won't lose...I won't lose...I can't afford to lose…" Lynae repeated to herself, "Too much is at stake, I can't lose…!"

"This is a sparring match, Kyanos," Guendolen said, "There's little need to-"

That was when Jurabi felt a strong negative emotion emanating from Lynae, "What is this? It's a far stronger negative emotion than even Seraph's and Angel's. Lynae...she's afraid...and...she feels angry at herself?"

Lynae had a small crazed look in her eyes as she slammed her gauntlets together creating a cold surge around her and Guendolen, "I'm not weak. I will not lose!" She screamed, slamming her fist into the ground, sending an icicle wave towards Guendolen to knock her unbalance.

Guendolen immediately jumped over the shock wave, "Kyanos! You need to calm down before you do something you'll regret!"

"Shut up!" Lynae shouted, "I won't...I won't lose! I refused to lose!``she screamed as the ice around her fists were eminatting was being absorbed into her body.

"And it happens once again," Aoife said to herself.

An image of a white tiger suddenly appeared over Lynae's body.

"That is..." Guendolen said as she stared at the silhouette of the white tiger over Lynae.

Lynae looked at Guendolen with glowing, yellow eyes as she slowly approached her. She clenched her fists so tight that the knuckles made cracking sounds.

"Um...professor, do you think we should stop this? Like now?!" Dourado asked, concerned for both combatants's safety.

"Not yet, Dory," Aoife said.

"D-Dory?" Dourado asked unsure about how he should feel about his professor's nickname for him.

"I want to see how a Pretorius handles this," Aoife said, "After all, Guendolen is the first of her family to come to this academy for over hundreds of years."

Guendolen didn't waver in the face of this sudden power from Lynae, "So, this is where your anger towards me has taken you. Very well, try to hit me as hard as you can."

The white tiger around Lynae then changed into a vermillion bird. Now she had enough speed to close the gap between herself and Guendolen.

 _"So fast!"_ Guendolen thought as she reacted just quickly enough to barely block the incoming attack.

But before Guendolen could recover, Lynae had already landed a solid punch into Guendolen's stomach.

 **Lynae Kyanos: One Point**

"Yikes, that might hurt in the morning," Acacia said, flinching after watching Guendolen take a hit like that.

"What in the world is happening to Lynae?" Jack said, "I've never seen anything like this."

 _"Could it be…?"_ Jurabi thought to himself thinking back to his fight with Seraph.

Guendolen held her stomach after she felt the pain from the hit Lynae had inflicted on her, "Haaah...what power. It's a shame that you would put it to improper use with your short temper, Kyanos. Regardless, even with this power of yours, you are still twenty years too early to be a match for a Pretorius. Same with the rest in this school."

"...I...won't...LOSE!" Lynae screamed as she rushed at Guendolen with faster speed than before.

Guendolen took a new stance that appeared as though she was waiting for Lynae's attack.

"What is Guen doing?" Dourado asked, "Shouldn't she try to move out of the way?"

Guendolen took in a deep breath as she said, "Heaven's Strike!" The moment Lynae's punch was about to connect with Guendolen's face, Guendolen was suddenly on the opposite side of Guendolen with her sword in a thrust position.

After a moment of silence, Lynae fell to the ground.

 **Winner: Guendolen Pretorius**

"She won…" Acacia said with her eyes widened, "With one strike she won."

"So you saw that too?" Jack asked, "I thought I was hallucinating for a second."

"I...Incredible...LynLyn and Guendlon are incredible! LynLyn's speed and power is really shown from her success in the underground cage fights and Guendlon's precision and use of the sword almost mimics the fighting style of ancient Wano samurais!" Angel started to ramble quickly as she placed a hand on her chin, "Guendolen attack almost makes me think of the fighting style of the ancient Samurai Higurashi which, if you studied the ancient scrolls like I have, was a master of the silent heaven strikes. It's really a fascinating read, but I believe the style is attuned naturally to the Pretorius family. Oh I hope she won't mind me learning about her family. I know they wanna be kept to themselves but I wanna know~" she whined after her very long winded self study of the girls fight.

Aoife and the entire class stared at the small girl with wide eyes unable to process everything she said and getting lost half way through.

"Owwww Angel broke my brain!" Dourado cried holding his head.

"I didn't even know half that... And I'm the teacher," Aoife muttered to herself.

Jack looked at Acacia. "Did you understand what she said?"

Acacia shook her head no. "I followed some of it then I think I got lost after the talk of ancient swords and samurais," she admitted.

Seraph was about to compliment Angel on her knowledge when he saw the look in Jurabi's eyes. "Ahh hell."

"Wow, Angel, are you secretly a robot, like this one robot character in Honkai Girl who was really good at analyzing things?!" Jurabi asked in his usual monotone voice while he pinches Angel's cheeks, "Are you going to do the same "Salutations" greeting too?"

"Ow ow ow Juju~~" Angel whined trying to swat his hands away as he pinches and pulls her cheeks.

Seraph cringed when he heard Jurabi say that and slapped him upside the head, as he pulled Angel behind him, "You idiot! Think before you open your mouth! And stop trying to take her cheeks off!"

"I just wanted to know," Jurabi said. "I won't do anything to Angel."

"Yea right! You have that look in your eye like those crazy mechanics who want to tear apart something and rebuild it again," Seraph said, "Guess even being a Grimm didn't take that away from you…"

Angel yelped and grabbed Seraph's shirt. "Sery~ Don't let Juju take me apart! I'm not a robot I swear!"

"Are you sure about that? Cuz you totally sounded like a robot spurting out all of those facts out of literal air ya know?" Jack tells her, analyzing her face while trying to pick up a robotic scent off her only to yelp as Acacia bops him upside the head.

"Don't be rude! Sniffing a lady without permission!" Acacia shouted, "Who taught you such despicable manners?! I will have to rectify this error in mannerisms immediately!"

"That's enough, everyone," Aoife said, "Seems like Lynae is getting up now."

"Ngh...what…?" Lynae asked as her eyes opened and she found herself lying on the ground, "What happened?"

"I have won the match, Kyanos," Guendolen said, approaching Lynae, "You fought well. I will acknowledge that, at least," She extended her hand to Lynae to help the dragon faunus back to her feet.

"Tch!" Lynae swatted Guendolen's hand away and stood up by herself, "I don't recall asking for your compliments. I won't forget this, you hear me?"

"You are still angry at me for what I said?" Guendolen asked, "It's such a shame that you continue to behave this way when you are so-"

"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!" Lynae screamed, "I've always hated people like you! People who think they know me just because they're stronger than me!"

"Lynae, I believe you need to calm down," Aoife said as she and the others arrived at the training floor, "You've already tired yourself in that sparring match. Yelling will only make it worse."

"Guendolen, don't you think you went too far?" Dourado asked.

"I only gave Kyanos a reality check," Guendolen said, "I figured she was going to be the type of hunter who would think she could take on just anyone."

Lynae was seeing red at this point as her veins started to become visible on her forehead, "I demand a rematch! This time I'll knock those teeth out of your damn mouth!"

Aoife stood in Lynae's way, "That is not the proper behavior of any student of mine, Lynae."

"Professor…" Lynae said, still feeling the anger building up inside her.

"You both agreed to this match and Guendolen won," Aoife said, "Now both of you are to shake hands as a sign of sportsmanship and as a promise to never fight with each other again."

Guendolen immediately extended her hand again to Lynae, "Please follow what Professor Chandani says, Kyanos."

 _"Grr...this girl!"_ Lynae thought to herself, _"I can't stand how she just immediately drops everything just to follow an order."_

Lynae was hesitant, but she eventually took Guendolen's hand and shook it.

"Good, with all that settled, let's head back to class and finally get to the lecture," Aoife said as the class makes their way back to their classroom.

But as they returned to the classroom, Jurabi had sensed nothing but negative emotions from Lynae all the way to the end of the lecture. Once the lecture was over, Lynae just left on her own.

Jurabi was curious and followed her back to the training room, "I hope she's okay. Losing like that must have affected her a lot."

When he arrived, he saw Lynae training with a test dummy all by herself. She was tearing it apart with a lot of punches and kicks.

"Whoa, look at her go," Jurabi said, unable to stop himself from staring at Lynae.

One the last punch, Lynae hit the test dummy so hard that the impact tore the dummy in half. Lynae let out a huff as she shook her hands.

"Not enough…" She muttered to herself.

"That was a good display of strength," Jurabi said as he walked in the room, "I'm curious if my armor would be able to survive a hit from you, Lynae," Lynae didn't respond, which wasn't a good sign to Jurabi, so in hopes of making things better, he took out two water bottles, "You don't seem to have a water bottle with you. I figured that you would need these two for yourself."

Lynae said nothing as she took a water bottle from Jurabi and drank from it. Once she had finished, she then opened her mouth, "What do you want?"

"What do I want?" Jurabi asked, "I'm just a little worried about you. Even though everyone else thinks you put things behind you, I can tell that you're still worked up. I can sense negative emotions from you."

"Oh, no shit, Sherlock," Lynae scoffed, "What's next, you're going to tell me that I have a short neck?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah, you have a short neck," Jurabi said, noticing how small Lynae's neck was, "But seriously, I was thinking you might need someone to talk about what just happened with your match. Maybe, have someone comfort you."

"Why should I tell everything I'm feeling to a Grimm," Lynae asked, "Leave me alone. I can deal with my anger by myself."

"But I don't think this is something you can handle on your own," Jurabi said, "I don't know if it's just me, but it seems like you were using that training dummy as an excuse to punch something. Maybe you're taking your training a little too far. If Angel were here, she would scold you senseless."

"Please stop…" Lynae said as her body began to shake.

"I know!" Jurabi said as he took out his bento box, "We can share this meal together. I made this myself and Angel loved it. You're going to need your energy so you don't wear yourself out."

The moment Lynae saw Jurabi's bento box, an image of a woman flashed in her mind causing her to instinctively knock it out of his hands, "I don't want anything from you! Go away, stop acting and sounding like her dammit!"

Jurabi looked over at the spilt over food and then looked over at Lynae who was clearly bothered by what he just said, "O-oh...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to open up any wounds, if there were any. I just wanted to help but…" He then let out a sigh, "Okay, I'll leave you alone, but please don't overwork yourself, okay?" But Lynae didn't respond as Jurabi stood up, "I'll leave this extra water bottle for you, at least. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

After Jurabi left the room, Lynae held her shoulders as she let out a deep sigh.

"Don't lose to anyone else before you get to me, got it?" Were the words that rang in her mind.

"...I lost...I...I lost…" Lynae whispered as she clenched her shoulders so tight that her skin started getting peeled.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Three Hours Later~~_

Lynae let out a deep breath as she finished breaking the third test dummy. She looked at her shaking hands and slammed them into a wall, "Dammit! Why can't I get this anger to go away! This is so frustrating!"

That was when she heard the sounds of her stomach growling, "Ah, damn. I skipped lunch and dinner. Tomorrow's going to be hell for me."

Lynae was on her way to the girl's dorms so she could rest for the night. Her stomach refused to stop its growling as the dragon faunus rubbed her tummy, "Kinda wish I hadn't knocked that grimm's food away like an idiot. It's so strange to have a Grimm wanting to help me."

Lynae passed by a four way crosswalk. To her left were a pair of tall, muscular students.

"Is that her?" One of them asked.

"Yep, that's the girl," The other said as they started walking behind her.

Lynae noticed that she was being followed and turned around to face the duo, "The hell do you two want? If you're looking for a spar, you'll have to wait until another time."

"We heard from a fellow student of ours that they had a run in with you recently," One of the students said.

"You got too rough with him and he wants us to take care of you before you become a problem," The other student said.

"What are you talking about?" Lynae said, "I don't recall ever having problems with anyone besides…" Then Lynae remembers her run-in with the nobleman, "Tch, so that asshole is sending his goons now. How cowardly."

"His Nobleness does not appreciate the bruises you left on his arm or you interrupting his courting of the lady he desired this morning," The dude on the left said, taking out his spear like gun.

"Oh please! That asshole was bothering the girl," Lynae explained, "I told him to back off and he didn't. That's his fault that his arm got messed up as a result."

"Your disrespect to his noble name will be your death faunus filth!" the other guy with spike like gloves yelled.

"Fine then, you want to fight, then I'll be sure to clean the floor with both of your faces!" Lynae said as she took a fighting stance, but her body was aching from the rigorous training she had done and her vision was becoming fuzzy, "Oh no...not now…"

As she saw the students approach her, she stepped back, "I'm warning you both! One step closer and I will put you six feet into the ground!"

"Girls like you are all bark and no bite," The spiky gloved student said, "Don't worry. We'll make this quick."

Just before they got close to Lynae, a voice called out.

"Stop right there, both of you," A chilling voice called out.

"Hm?" One of the students turned around.

Lynae looked behind them and saw Guendolen standing there, "Y-You?!"

"That is not the way to the boy's dorm," Guendolen said, "You both aren't planning to start trouble, are you? I suggest you leave that girl alone this instant."

"Heh, what does a scrawny little-" Before the spiky glove student could finish, the other student stopped him.

"Whoa, don't say anything! Do you know who that is?!" The student asked.

The spiky glove student took a second look at Guendolen and his eyes widened, "I-It's that Pretorius! P-please forgive us, Miss Pretorius. I was not aware our academy had accepted someone from your family."

"All will be forgiven so long as you do as I tell you," Guendolen said.

"Y-yes, of course. We apologize for the inconvenience," The spiky gloved student said as he and the other student quickly left the hallway.

 _"What?"_ Lynae thought to herself in shock, _"She was half their size, and yet just her last name alone was enough to send them running. How much influence does her family have?!"_

"Are you well, Kyanos?" Guendolen asked, "You looked like you needed assistance there."

"I-I could have handled those bozos on my own," Lynae said, wincing when she moved her sour arms.

"Of course," Guendolen said, "But I am your classmate and fellow huntress. It would impede everyone's progress if you were taken out of commission."

"Geez, do you always talk like this?' Lynae asked, "It's like almost 10 p.m."

"Only Pretorius of the high order like myself, my sisters and my father," Guendolen said, "In any case, I am on my way to the girls dorm so allow me to escort you, Kyanos."

Lynae was hesitant to reply to the offer. Deep down, she was still mad at Guendolen, but Lynae was not the kind of person to be harsh to someone who just saved her, "Okay."

Guendolen then reached into her pocket and took out a sandwich, "Apologies. I did not know what kind of sandwich you liked and I didn't want to risk a peanut butter allergy, so I went with turkey."

"That's for me?" Lynae asked.

"Yes, I don't see any reason for me to be carrying a turkey sandwich at nighttime," Guendolen said with a straight face.

"Hehahaha!" Lynae let out a laugh after hearing Guendolen say a sarcastic comment with such a stoic face, "Man, I don't know why, but the way you said that is way funnier than if you added a sarcastic tone. Thanks, though. I was starving."

As both of them made their way to the girl's dorm, there was awkward silence. For a moment, Lynae was afraid that they were going to arrive without having one conversation. Just as she was about to start off with a topic, Guendolen beat her to the punch.

"Alisen told me about what happened," Guendolen said.

"Did he?" Lynae asked.

"Yes, I was curious and saw you training non-stop," Guendolen said, "Well, I would call it training if there were signs of a training plan and if proper form was used throughout the whole session. You had neither of those two in that instance. Were you, perhaps, placing all of your anger onto the training dummies and nothing else?"

"..." Lynae stayed quiet. She was unable to deny any of it, "Yes...I was just venting out my anger. Better on a bunch of training dummies than on a real person."

"You are referring to me, aren't you?" Guendolen asked.

"...Yeah," Lynae said with a sigh, "I'm...I'm still angry at you for the things you said, but even worse, I lost against you. I was so pathetic in that whole fight."

"..."

"You were right," Lynae said, "I could never hope to be a match for someone like you. Seeing how you handled those men without so much as having a weapon on you tells me a lot about your family."

"Kyanos," Guendolen said, stopping in her tracks to turn to Lynae, "I want you to know that everything I have said to you were not attacks on you as a person. I simply wanted you to understand what your actions were going to lead to, just like what happened tonight. Those men would not have been sent to ambush you if you had not acted aggressively towards the nobleman because unlike a commoner, a nobleman can order your death at any moment."

"...But still, if I hadn't done anything…" Lynae said.

"I never said that you should have done nothing," Guendolen said, "I only said that an aggressive approach would only invoke something worse in the future. Remember what I said to Sky?"

"And Sky, I heard from the Professor what happened. I am sorry you were threatened to be beaten up if you didn't poison Alisen, but you still should have gone to the professor about it regardless. Listening to those bullies would have sent a message to other students about how weak-willed and easily manipulated you can be."

Lynae remembered those words and her eyes widened.

"I never told Sky to do nothing about the bullies either," Guendolen said, "What do you think would have happened if I did nothing about the men who were about to attack you?"

"...Damn…" Lynae muttered as she lowered her head, "Gue-I mean-Pretorius, I'm-"

"For now, you may call me by my name," Guendolen said.

"...Guendolen, I'm sorry," Lynae said, "I had you wrong this whole time. I thought you didn't care about anyone but the rules. I insulted your family and worse of all, I treated you like shit, calling you a soulless machine, but you care just as much as anyone else."

"...A soulless machine…" Guendolen repeated.

"Again, I am deeply sorry for treating you like that," Lynae said.

"I don't mind," Guendolen said, "I have been called far worse. Besides, you are right that I am a soulless machine. I can feel emotions, but…"

"Far worse?" Lynae asked.

"It doesn't matter," Guendolen said, "Come on. We're almost in the dorms."

When they arrived at the dorms, Guendolen turned to Lynae.

"Here we are," Guendolen said, "Please take care not to overwork yourself from now on. Once I find out who this nobleman is, he won't be bothering any other student again."

"...Thanks," Lynae said.

"Have a good night, Kyanos," Guendolen said as she turned to leave for her room, but then she stopped, "Allow me to give you an important piece of advice."

"Yes?" Lynae asked.

"I assume you're wondering how I managed to make those men flee at the mere mention of my last name," Guendolen said as she saw Lynae's curiosity-filled face before answering, "You and I are different people who come from different walks of life. You rely on the strength you gained through whatever trials you faced as a child. I, however, possess something stronger than strength: Presence."

"Presence?" Lynae asked.

"Yes, just by being there, I was able to intimidate those men enough that they do not wish a confrontation with either of us," Guendolen said, "Over three thousand years ago near the end of the third Worldwide War, the Pretorius prevented a major catastrophe that could have ended all life in Vastel. I may not have had any hand in the success of my ancestors, but my goal is to ensure that their success is not made into something meaningless. So let me tell you this: Your strength, Kyanos, will mean nothing if you do not have the presence to make it mean anything to others."

"..."

"Goodnight," Guendolen said before she went to her room.

"...Strength means nothing...I don't have the presence to make it mean anything to others…" Lynae repeated to herself.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Classroom B-8~~_

 _~~The Next Day~~_

Lynae arrived in class on the next day earlier than usual. She was still pondering on Guendolen's words from last night. No matter how much she thought about the words, she couldn't figure out what the Pretorius meant by her last statement.

She was snapped out of her trance when Jurabi waved his hand in front of her.

"Lynae? Are you feeling alright?" Jurabi asked, "I've been calling out to you for the past two minutes, but you didn't respond."

Lynae got a bearing on her surroundings and saw that Angel, Seraph, and Guendolen were also in the classroom. She didn't answer Jurabi and returned to her seat.

"Lynae…" Jurabi said.

"Did something happen?" Seraph asked, "She seems disconnected from this plane of existence."

"Don't bother her too much, Alisen," Guendolen said as she called Jurabi, Seraph, and Angel over and explained to them what happened last night.

"She almost got attacked?!" Angel asked in shock, "That's terrible..."

"It may be possible that Kyanos will try to overdo her training again," Guendolen said, "I won't be able to protect her every time."

"So you want us to do something about this," Seraph said.

"At least until I deal with this "nobleman" of Staneia," Guendolen said, "I believe I have an idea as to who they are."

"Well, we were going to try and help her even if you didn't ask, Guendolen," Jurabi said, "Thanks for telling us."

"Thank you, Alisen," Guendolen said.

"I know!" Angel said, "I'll make her some metabolism booster tea."

"Metabolism what?" Seraph asked.

"Metabolism booster tea," Angel said, "I made some for Dodo-nisan yesterday after he worked himself ragged in the weight room. It worked wonders on him so I have no doubt the same will work for Lynlyn."

"How in the world can you have so much knowledge on fighting styles and make herbal teas, but not know how to cook?" Jurabi muttered.

"Did you say something, Juju?" Angel asked.

"Oh, nothing," Jurabi said.

"Actually, I think Jurabi said he wanted to try more of your peanut butter squid," Seraph said.

"Shut up, Seraph!" Jurabi shouted.

"Really, Juju?!" Angel asked in excitement, "Then I'll get to work on it right away. I promise this batch will be better than the last one I gave you!"

Jurabi looked at her happy face not being able to fake a smile gave her a thumbs up. "Oh boy I can't wait..." he said weakly making Seraph chuckle in amusement. Jurabi sent him a death glare.

"Awww that's so nice of you Angel to fix Juju his new favorite meal" Seraph teased.

"You know Angel, Seraph might feel bad if you didn't make something for him too. So, I think you should whip him up something special too" Jurabi said, making Seraph joke on his laughter and pale in horror.

"Ah. You're so right Juju! Don't worry Sery I have the perfect thing to make you. It's going to be so tasty that you'll love every bite of it," Angel said beaming at him so brightly it hurt.

"Yay... I can't wait..." Seraph said being able to fake the happy trembling smile glaring at Jurabi knowing the grimm was feeling smug and would show it if he could.

Lynae was getting annoyed at how noise the three were being, "Will you keep it down?! I'm trying to think here!"

"Oh, s-sorry, Lynlyn," Angel said, "Were you thinking about something important?"

"...You could say that," Lynae said, "I'm just thinking about battle strategies and stuff."

"Strategies such as?" Seraph asked.

"Like...how to fight someone stronger than you," Lynae said, "Usually more strength would work but…"

"What an excellent question, Lynie!" Aoife shouted, popping up from behind Lynae.

"AH!" Lynae screamed, jumping back right into Seraph, knocking both of them over.

"Teehee, did I spook you?" Aoife asked.

"Damn right you did, Professor!" Lynae shouted as she felt Seraph shove her off of his body.

"Sorry," Aoife said, sticking her tongue out.

"Mafe really isn't sorry, she spooks me all the time when I'm leaving the library at night to head back to the dorms by myself" Angel admits pouting at Aoife.

"Mafe?" Said both Guendolen and Lynae, confused by the sudden usage of such a peculiar name.

"But that's how I show my love to all of you, my precious students," Aoife said with a smile.

"Rrrrrriiight…" Everyone else said with the most blank stare they could muster.

Once the others arrived in the classroom, Aoife then cleared her throat, "Anyways, I have a perfect lesson for today's lecture: How to fight against an opponent whose strength far exceeds yours?"

"Professor, you're pulling this lesson out of nowhere, aren't you?" Jack asked.

"Nope," Aoife said, looking the other way while puffing out her lips, "This lesson was totally planned for today specifically."

"What a terrible liar…" Acacia said.

Jurabi facepalmed, "Mom...how did you deal with this?"

"Anyways, back to the training room, everyone~!" Aoife shouted.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Training Room~~_

"Man, we really like coming into this room as a class," Dourado pointed out, "Maybe we should make this our classroom."

"No way! Do you not know how much paper work I have to do just to go in here with you all?!" Aoife cried, "The Director's hound dog-I mean- advisor has already chewed me and spat me out after he heard one of my students destroyed ten training dummies!"

"Oh...well I don't know who that could have been," Lynae said, looking the other way.

"Anyways, this lesson can easily be explained if it is shown to you all," Aoife said, "We'll do the usual one-on-one spar, but this time I'll choose the fighters."

"Wait, I thought we weren't allowed to do this until further notice," Jack said.

"You guys were going around challenging each other," Aoife said, "It was getting annoying, so I made sure you couldn't do that for a while. In this case, I am authorizing the spar match."

"Well, this should be fun. I wonder who I get to study this time around" Angel said looking at Jack and Acacia before looking at Dourado, "I know a little about each of you clans styles but i wonder how you three will use it against each other. Dodo-Niichan has the defensive fighting style, while I believe Acacia uses her speed and then I think Jack will use cunning tricks," she anazlied to herself making everyone shake their heads.

Jack rubbed his head while Dourado crouched down. "So many words... How does she talk so fast and retain so much in that tinie tiny body of hers." the giant Tiger fanus wondered.

"Well, my sweet Angie, there's no better way to study a fighting style than being on the receiving end of it," Aoife smiled, patting Angel's shoulder.

"H-huh?" Angel asked, slowly turning to her smiling professor, "W..What do you mean Mafe?"

"You'll be one of the combatants in this sparring match," Aoife said before she pointed at Dourado, "And you're opponent...will be Mr. Ouro."

Everyone's eyes widened and their mouths dropped open in horrified shock.

"OMG SHE'S TRYING TO KILL ANGEL!" Lynae cried.

"Angel will respectfully decline ma'am," Acacia said, holding the timid girl to her protectively.

"Okay fifty bucks says she'll faint the moment the bell rings" Jack joked before getting kicked in the stomach by Seraph.

"Not cool! Also Professor, bad idea. Like seriously bad ideas!" Seraph cried, pulling Angel over to stand next to a grinning Dourado. "This is practically a cute newborn bunny vs starving tiger."

"Is that what you guys think of me?" Dourado asked, his feelings getting hurt.

"No, you're not a bad guy Dourado you're just a massively huge dude with a soft heart, but your muscles could snap us in two" Acacia said sweetly trying to make him feel better.

Dourado grinned. "Awww thanks Acacia my muscles are pretty nice aren't they?" he asked, flexing his arms showing off the rippling muscles that made Angel go pale.

"Everyone, will you please calm down," Aoife said, shaking her head, "Did you forget that you are all using training gear when you're in the VR simulator?"

"I mean, sure, but…" Seraph said, still worried for Angel's safety.

"I...I c..can do i..it" Angel said shakily. "I...I have to get stronger... and there's nothing like learning first hand right?"

"That's the spirit my innocent lil bookworm-adopted sister! Now let's go have some fun!" Dourado cheered, picking Angel up and carrying her into the simulator.

Both of them enter the simulation. They were taken to an empty beach near the ocean.

"Now then, let's begin this lesson with a question for you all," Aoife said, turning to the other students, "Who will win in this sparring match?"

"Really? That's an easy question," Lynae said, "Dourado definitely wins."

"Sky will win," Guendolen said.

"Huh? Angel?" Lynae asked, "Not to doubt her skills as a hunter, but isn't Angel outmatched in this match up? Just look at how small she is and she seems to use a bow to fight."

"True, a bow isn't ideal in a one-on-one fight against someone with a close combat weapon like Dourado has," Aoife said, "But, I ask you all to simply watch and imagine Dourado as a giant Ursus for Angel to fight against."

"A giant Ursus?" Acacia asked.

"Oh…" Jurabi muttered to himself, thinking back to his fight against Gerald, "So that's what you're trying to teach us, Professor."

"I can't believe the professor," Angel said with a sigh, "All I wanted was to study your fighting, Dodo-nisan, not fight you."

Dourado put Angel down and patted her head, "Trust me. I don't like hurting people; especially if I like them. But we're not fighting to hurt each other, but to improve and learn. As long as we don't over do it, I think it will be fine."

"That is a fair point," Angel said.

"Besides, it's like the professor said. Going up against someone with a different fighting style from you will give you a different learning experience than you can get from reading it from a book," He then took out a virtual version of his weapon: A large, yellow swordspear along with a gold and black tower shield attached to his forearm, "So are you ready? Gloria Eterna and Torre Dourada won't hold back."

"You named your shield too?" Angel asked.

"Of course," Dourado said, "They're like my companions. Why wouldn't I name them both?"

"I see," Angel said as she took out a blue bow with no string or arrows to be seen, "Then Toru and I won't hold anything back either."

 **Sparring Match: Angel Sky vs Dourado Ouro**

 **"First to Land Three Blows Wins"**

 **BEGIN!**

Angel immediately separated herself from Dourado range of space to avoid any close range damage, _"I'm battling an opponent that has the sheer size advantage and power who is known to have a very strong defense. If I am, I must use my terrain to my advantage."_

Angel jumped up to a palm tree low hanging branch to get a good lay of the land and area. She saw Dourado standing still absorbing the sunlight looking at the ocean with a smile.

"I know it's virtual reality but man doesn't the sea look beautiful Angel! Almost makes you wanna go swimming in it!" Dourado said happily.

"It is really pretty..." Angel said being thrown off a little bit by Dourados nonchalant approach to their fight, but remembered he's non aggressive. "He counter strikes." "Never the first to attack but quick to defend. Be strong like the mighty oak, but shield like the great mountains. That's your family saying isn't it?"

"Your mumbling to yourself, little one?" Douardo asked, putting his hands behind his head casually, "Didn't think you were the type to do that kind of stuff."

Angel shook her head before drawing back her hand on Toru creating blue and white dust arrows on her bow. "Sometimes you just get lost in thought," she said releasing the arrows both at the same time.

Dourado watched the arrows soar at him before holding up his shield letting them hit in the center. The white arrow embedded in the ground behind him while the blue one shattered. "Your precision is fantastic little one! You could be an amazing sniper!" he complemented. "But precision won't help you get through my defenses."

 _"Just as I thought,"_ Angel thought to herself, _"If I can't get through his defenses, then I'll have to get around them,"_ She then took a look at the waves coming in with the ocean, _"Of course."_ She then drew her arrows again and continued her barrage.

"You know that's not going to work," Dourado said as he blocked all of her arrows. Three arrows fell short of their targets and vanished into the waves. Dourado waited for the right angle and saw the arrow he wanted to hit, "There!" He shouted as he activated the thunder dust within his shield to create a thunder barrier that deflected Angel's water arrows, converting them into thunder arrows.

"Oh crap baskets," Angel said as she jumped off the palm tree to try and avoid the incoming arrows, but two of them scrapped her body, counting as two hits.

 **Dourado Ouro: Two Points**

"Amazing, so Dourado can convert any projectile thrown at him into thunder dust?" Lynae asked, "That's so cool. I knew I was right to choose him.

"So you haven't noticed how Angel guaranteed her victory?" Guendolen asked.

"Huh, guaranteed? She got hit twice by her own arrows," Lynae said.

"Yea Guendolen I don't see how Angel's won this match at all. Dourado barely moved and all Angel did was shoot off random arrows" Jack said scratching his head.

Guendolen let out a sigh, "How many times do I have to tell you not to refer to me with my given name? Pay close attention to Dourado's surroundings. What do you see?"

Everyone looked at the screen as told, trying to see what she saw. "I see just a bunch of arrows and the water rising up" Acacia informed.

"Yes, now take a closer look at the arrows and notice anything about them?" Guedolen asked.

Seraph's eyes widened when he noticed what he assumed to be misfired arrows actually seemed to be in a pattern. They were each glowing, giving off small smarks while the ground around Dourado was covered in blue dust. "What the hell... that looks like a giant seal?!"

"Indeed," Guendolen said with a nod, "That was her plan all this time, but I don't think Dourado has noticed yet."

"Okay lil one time to end this. It was fun though I wish you showed off a little more fighting spirit, but no worries we'll work out those battle jitters in no time!" Dourado said, starting to charge up his lightning dust infused spear.

Angel was crouched on the ground before she stood up putting her arms behind her back giving Dourado a cheery smile. "Sorry Dodo-Niichan, but I may not seem like it but I.. I kind of don't like to lose... So, I may have overdone this just a bit" she said sheepishly as she drew Toru up with a yellow arrow at the bow. "See you're kind of standing in my little water trap seal...and well as the saying goes. 'Water conducts electricity." she said aiming her arrow directly at the spear's point, hitting it dead-on to make the lightning condense and fly out to the white arrows placed around him.

"Wha..." Dourado started to say before he saw all the arrows like up around him and the blue dust started to rise up. "Ahhh I see now..." he said right as the blue dust exploded around him sending him flying sky high.

Angel watched the explosion with a wince. "Yea... definitely too much water dust..." she said as Dourado landed on the ground before her.

Dourado looked dazed and extremely weakened as Angel bent down and patted his head three times.

 **Angel Sky: Three Points**

 **Winner: Angel Sky**

"Dang it!" Dourado shouted, "I wanted to win that one! Here I thought I had it in the bag!"

"Seriously? The little girl won?" Lynae asked, completely shocked that such a thing even happened.

"How in the hell did she pull that off?!" Jack asked.

Aoife let out a smile, "Indeed she did. I'm so proud of my little Angie~!"

Once Angel and Dourado returned to the observation room, Aoife gave both of them her congratulations.

"Well done both of you in that match," Aoife said, "There are still problems with your form, but with training you'll be able to iron out those problems."

"Thank you, Mafe," Angel said with a smile.

"Still can't believe I lost though," Dourado said.

"I can't believe it. I watched and I still can't believe it!" Jack yelled before marching over to Angel. "You! Small child too strong. Explain!" the fox faunus demanded.

Angel eep and jumped behind Jurabi and Seraph. "I...I d..don't know what you mean..."

"Calm down, Jackie," Aoife said, "Angie won because she did not underestimate Dourado's biggest strength: His defenses. Instead of brute forcing through it, she made use of her dust attacks to set up a hidden trap that gave her the advantage she needed."

"So...basically this fight was like Honkai Girl vs the Black Giant," Jurabi said.

"Oh, you watched that movie too, Jubi?! I knew you had good tastes!" Aoife shouted happily.

"Meanwhile, everyone else here is confused as to what you weirdos are talking about," Seraph said.

"In any case, I told you all to imagine Dourado as a giant Ursus, right?" Aoife asked, "Well, there will be larger Grimm you may have to face in the future. Zenith Grimm, especially, but we all have something that they don't."

"We do?" Acacia asked.

"Yes, we have will, leadership, strategy, unity, and our desires to make the world a safer place," Aoife said, "So long as you never forget those things, it is possible to defeat any Grimm, no matter how much taller or stronger they are than you."

"So that's what this was about…" Lynae said, thinking back to Guendolen's words from last night.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~After Lecture Hours~~_

After the day's lecture was over for Lynae's class, the dragon faunus wanted to speak with Aoife about Angel's match against Dourado, feeling as if maybe she was missing something else that factored into Angel's victory.

When she arrived in the room, however, she saw her professor sleeping on her chair with a parkour magazine sitting on her face.

"Uh...Professor?" Lynae asked.

"Ah...that's it, Nebby," Aoife said while blushing, "Right there~! That's my tickle spot, teehee..."

"Don't even ask, Lynae, don't even ask," Lynae muttered to herself before yelling, "WAKE THE HELL UP, PROFESSOR!" She shouted as she slammed her fist onto the desk.

"Eeeek!" Aoife shrieked as she fell off her chair during her panic. Once she got her bearings, she immediately took a proper posture on her desk, "Oh, Lynae. I didn't hear you come in."

"Gee, I wonder why," Lynae said sarcastically.

"Was there something you needed?" Aoife asked, "Or rather, did you wish to see your favorite teacher?"

"I was wondering about something relating to the match Angel and Dourado had," Lynae said.

"Ah yes, my little Angie did such a wonderful job," Aoife said with a proud smile.

"Well, I wanted to know if you allowed for today's spar match because you wanted to show me why I lost against Guendolen," Lynae said.

"Yes I did, although it seemed as though I pulled it out of nowhere," Aoife explained, "I heard about the incident last night from Guendolen."

"Sheesh, that girl tells everyone everything that happens," Lynae said.

"Lynae, is something else bothering you?" Aoife asked, "We went further on the topic of why strategy is just as important as strength, but you're still having doubts about that. Is strategy just not your forte?"

"...I…" Lynae took in a deep breath, "Strength is all I've known in my life. My parents tried to teach me other things, but they just never stick right with me. When I lost that sparring match against Guendolen...I felt as though my entire world was destroyed right before my eyes."

"I see," Aoife said, "It seems as though strength means a lot to you. Why is that?"

"...It's...it's a long story, but," Lynae looked down at the ground, pondering if she should even tell Aoife the story.

"As long as you are okay with it, you can tell me," Aoife said.

"...My hometown is in the Kingdom of Staneia," Lynae said.

"Oh my goodness," Aoife said, already knowing how a story like this would go, "Are you….perhaps…?"

"Yes, I wasn't able to pass the Dust Affinity test," Lynae said, "The one where whether or not you get to be a hunter is decided by how potent your dust affinity is. Mine's was so low that I was mocked for days on end as a result."

"So that's what happened," Aoife said, "I always wondered how you were able to enter this academy despite having low dust affinity. Who were your parents, if you don't mind me asking?"

"My parents are both hunters," Lynae answered, "My father is Carmine Kyanos and my mother is Indra Kyanos."

"Wait," Aoife said with widened eyes, "Indra?! THE Indra?! The one people called "The Blue Dragon Faunus"?"

"Yes, you know my mother?" Lynae asked.

"Know her? We were the bestest of friends back when we were your age!" Aoife said, feeling a sense of nostalgia, "She was the leader of the rival group for my team and man did she always get into fights with my team leader. Those two had it out of each other for years until they finally had a fight to settle things. Don't tell me she forgot to tell me she got married!"

"Well, lately she has been having some minor memory problems," Lynae explained, "I guess she just forgot about you. But yeah, I heard from my mom that she lost that fight by a hair margin," Lynae said with a smile, "That is something she would never forget. Just remembering it makes her angry for the rest of the day."

"How is she taking her retirement?" Aoife asked, "I know her injury…"

"She hates it, even though she has accepted it," Lynae said, "But overall, she's doing great."

"Let me guess, it was Indra who helped you get past Staneia's caste system," Aoife said.

"Yes," Lynae said, "My mother was good at almost everything. Dust affinity, Grimm knowledge, and especially her aura. My father was a well-respected hunter who was good at building weapons. But despite all of that, I couldn't..."

"That is the fault of Staneia's caste system," Aoife said, "It was put in place to ensure that only people with the best potential are allowed into Vastel Academy, and it is your dust affinity levels that decides this, not your aura levels. It seems that Staneia values power over survivability for its hunters."

"I didn't want to give up on my dream of being a strong huntress like my mother!" Lynae shouted, on the verge of breaking into tears, "At the time, I didn't know what was wrong with me! And so I did my absolute hardest to train, and train, and train, hoping that something would change. That was when...I met her."

"Her?" Aoife asked.

"...Dana Alisen," Lynae answered.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Staneia Kingdom: Shinran City~~_

 _~~Twelve Years Ago~~_

 _"Hah!" Shouted a young girl as she lightly hit a training dummy in the cold snow, "Ha! Ha!" She shouted, continuing to hit the training dummy, but quickly rubbed her hands, "Ow...this is so hard…"_

 _"Lynae!" Called a woman's voice._

 _"Yes, Mommy?" A six year old Lynae responded._

 _"We have a visitor! Come over and say hi!" Lynae's mother shouted._

 _"Okay," Lynae said as she ran inside her house. When she arrived in the living room, she walked in on a conversation._

 _"So, that horn of yours hasn't grown back, has it, Indra?" Asked a woman with black hair with red highlights on the edges._

 _"No, my wounds fully healed either," Replied a woman with the similar cyan blue hair with blue highlights on the edges as Lynae's hair, except her hair reached to her shoulders. Her name was Indra Kyanos, "I thought for sure that I was going to be the one who would put an end to the freezing temperatures that Zenith Grimm was causing, but fate had different plans for me. What about you?"_

 _"Well...it's been the usual for me," Dana said, "My kids are quite a handful, especially my son. He's so obsessed with this movie called-"_

 _"Mommy?" Lynae asked as the two women turned to her._

 _"Ah, Lynae, this is mommy's friend," Lynae said._

 _Dana smiled and waved at Lynae, "Hello, there. I'm Dana Alisen. It's nice to meet you."_

 _"H-hello...I'm…" Lynae wasn't good at socializing with people other than her parents._

 _"It's okay, dear," Indra said, "Take your time."_

 _"L-Lynae Kyanos," Lynae said._

 _"Lynae, what an adorable name for a cute girl like you," Dana said, "I saw you hitting that training dummy outside. Why were you hitting it?"_

 _"I...um…" Lynae didn't know what to say to the woman._

 _"Don't worry, Lynae, mommy will explain," Lynae said, "It's because she saw me training with my weapons the other day. She likely took a shine to what I was doing and wanted to do the same."_

 _"Ah, you too, Indra?" Dana asked, "My son would not stop bothering me about how much he wants to be a hunter."_

 _"Hah, our children are no different from us," Indra said with a smile, "Lynae may not be the best at speaking to strangers, but she has quite a passion when she feels it. Maybe one day, those two will meet and get into arguments like we used to back in the day."_

 _"I've no doubt," Dana said, "But are you sure it's okay for your daughter to want to be a huntress?"_

 _"I see no issue," Indra said, "Kids may be oblivious to the most obvious things but they aren't stupid. If Lynae wants to back out once she discovers what being a huntress is all about, that's her decision."_

 _Dana let out a sigh, "You too, huh?" She then looked over at Lynae, "Hey, Lynae, do you really want to be a huntress?"_

 _"Um...yes…" Lynae said, looking down at the ground nervously._

 _"Well, I'm a seasoned huntress like your mommy here," Dana said, "Would you like for me to teach you this style I've picked up. I think it will fit you nicely."_

 _"Y-You don't mind?" Lynae asked, looking up with hopeful eyes._

 _"Not in the slightest," Dana said._

 _"Yaaay! Let's go! Let's go!" Lynae shouted, rushing out the back door into the backyard._

 _"See? Told you," Indra said, "My daughter has passion."_

 _"Then we'll need to teach her about everything else too," Dana said with a smile._

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Aoife's Office~~_

 _~~Present Day~~_

"She taught me how to have a proper fighting stance that day," Lynae said, "She saw potential in me despite only meeting me that one time at that age. I was happy when she taught me that much and she was happy that I learned so quickly. We made a promise that day, too. Dana told me…"

"Don't lose to anyone else before you get to me, got it?"

"That sounds like something Dana would say," Aoife said.

"I broke that promise," Lynae said, breaking down into tears, "I lost. And it was all because I was so angry I couldn't think straight!"

Aoife let Lynae cry her tears out until the girl had calmed down. Once she did, she placed a hand on Lynae's shoulders, "Lynae, if Dana were still alive and saw you like this...she would be disappointed."

"She would…?" Lynae asked.

"Yes, but not because you lost a fight," Aoife said, "But because you started doubting yourself and your capabilities after the fact. It was a learning experience for you, and it's okay to lose."

"It is…?" Lynae asked.

"Frankly, I would say Dana was just trying to get you excited to be a huntress," Aoife said, "She probably didn't know you would take that promise so literally. And about your capabilities as a huntress, I want you to know that in the entry exams you took, you have the potential to be one of the physically strongest students in this academy has had in years...ever since your own mother entered, in fact."

"My mother?" Lynae asked.

"Yes, however, judging from today's spar match, your great strength came with a great flaw: Your emotions are easy to exploit and use against you."

"My emotions…" Lynae said, "Yes, I tend to get angry easily. I'm trying to fix that, I really am, but...it's so easy to lose my cool."

"I know this won't be easy for you, but my advice is to try and figure out whatever it is that is causing you to have such a short fuse and simply breath and let it go," Aoife advised, "Think calmly about things. Most important of all, use your strength as a tool to help people, not to hurt and inflict pain, because that was the kind of huntress Dana was."

"I see," Lynae said, finally feeling better about herself as she remembers Guendolen's words from last night.

"As I have said before, we are hunters-humanity's last line of defense against the Grimm and many other threats," Aoife continued, "Our purpose is to protect, not solely to destroy unless we need to. Do you understand now, Lynae?"

Lynae let out a smile as she said, "Yes, I do. Thank you, Professor! I didn't think anyone would have the right answer to my problem, but you found a way."

"You're my student, Lynae," Aoife said, "You're the most vulgar one I've had in my teaching career. So much so that now I understand how my professor felt teaching your mother. Well sorta, because unlike him, I enjoy your vulgar attitude."

"Oh...th-thank you," Lynae said, blushing a little.

"Teehee, not used to having your behavior complimented, are you?" Aoife asked.

"Well, y-yes," Lynae said, "Only my mom said that kind of stuff to me. Maybe my dad as long as I didn't do anything that ended with him having to pay for it."

"You are surprisingly cute when you're flustered, Lynie," Aoife said, "I must thank you in return for holding my dear friend in such high regard. There's no doubt in my mind that you will be the huntress she would be proud of."

"Thank you, Professor," Lynae said as she stood up to leave.

"Ah, and one more thing, Lynie," Aoife said, having an evil smile.

"Yes, Professor?" Lynae asked, turning around only to see Aoife face to face with her, a hand on a strand of the dragon faunus's hair.

"Ah...shit…" Lynae muttered.

"Indeed...shit…" Aoife said with a smile.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Training Room~~_

"Damn…" Lynae grunted, rubbing the side of her head where her hair was pulled, "Did she really have to pull that hard? What does she even want with my strand of hair anyways? I swear that woman is so weird."

As she approached the training room, Lynae began reading the sounds of training swords clashing.

"Not enough, Jurabi, try again!" Seraph's voice called out.

"Got it!" Jurabi's voice shouted as the training sword clash sounds continued.

"Move your feet, Juju!" Angel's voice shouted.

"What the?" Lynae turned the corner and found Jurabi, Seraph, and Angel in the training room. Seraph was clashing training swords with Jurabi as Angel watched with a small video camera, "Those three..."

"Alright, that's enough," Seraph said, stopping the training, "Now let's see how you did."

"Okay, Jurabi said as he and Seraph sat with Angel to see the recording.

After a few minutes of silence, Jurabi let out a sigh of disappointment.

"I messed up my form again," Jurabi said.

"And you were moving your feet in the strangest positions too," Seraph said, "If this were a normal battle, you would have been killed in forty different ways."

"This might be harder than I thought," Angel said, "You never had any prior sword training, have you, Juju?"

"No, unfortunately," Jurabi said, "My mother didn't want me to ever be a hunter, so I was stuck with learning how to build stuff."

"You're talking about Dana Alisen, aren't you?" Lynae asked, walking in on the conversation.

"Lynae!" Jurabi shouted, "Wh-why are you here?"

"This is a training room," Lynae answered, "Why wouldn't I be here?"

"Hi, Lynlyn," Angel said, "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah, I am, Angel," Lynae said.

"Good cause I'm mad at you for knocking away Juju's food!" Angel shouted, getting up into Lynae's face.

"Wh-what?" Lynae asked.

"Oh boy…" Seraph said.

"How could you waste such delicious food like that?!" Angel shouted, "Not to mention that you almost starved to death as a result and wore yourself out with all that training! Do that again and I will tie you up to a chair and force the food down your throat!"

"Yep, I called it," Jurabi said with a shrug.

"...Okay…" Lynae said, backing away a little, "I...won't do that again."

"Promise?!" Angel asked.

"I promise," Lynae said.

Angel smiled, "Good, now I think you owe Juju an apology."

"She doesn't have to apologize, Angel," Jurabi said, "I was clearly bothering her last night, after all."

"No...I do owe you an apology," Lynae said, "You didn't deserve me yelling at you that night, Jurabi. Nor did you deserve the way I treated you, either."

"It's okay, Lynae," Jurabi said, "That's something I have to get used to for the rest of my life."

"Even so…" Lynae said before shaking her head, "Anyways, I see you were trying to train. What for?"

"We were trying to get Jurabi to learn his own fighting style, since he wasn't taught anything about fighting," Angel said.

"I heard," Lynae said, "Your mother didn't teach you shit, did she?"

"She refused at every turn," Jurabi answered.

"Well then, it's a good thing she taught me a bit," Lynae said, "I can teach you about the basics of your mother's fighting style."

"You can do that?" Seraph asked.

"I may not be the best teacher, but I can pull through when needed to," Lynae said, "So, Jurabi, do you want me to teach you your mother's fighting style?"

"Absolutely," Jurabi said.

"Okay, then I'll be sure to find the time to teach you," Lynae said.

"Wait, you're not going to teach me now?" Jurabi asked.

"Of course not," Lynae said, "Your mother's fighting style is dangerous. Shit would have killed me if I didn't have the immense aura my mother had. I don't know what kind of training your mother did, but whatever it was, she clearly wasn't human for being able to survive it."

"It was that intense?" Seraph asked.

"Yeah, I'm starting to see why my mother lost against her," Lynae said, "But anyways, do you guys want to train with me? I won't overdo it this time, but I wanted to make up for the trouble I caused with Guendolen."

"Sure," Angel said, "I'm not good with physical stuff, but I don't want to just sit and watch."

"If you get tired, you can sit down and relax at any time," Seraph said.

"I know, Sephy, I know," Angel said.

"Shoot, if I had known Lynae was going to come, I would have made an extra bento box," Jurabi said, scratching his head.

"Don't worry about that, Jurabi," Lynae said, "Next time we train, I'd be happy to eat the food you make."

"That's good to hear," Jurabi said, "Now, why don't we get started.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Later that night~~_

"Ugh...my noodly arms…my noodly legs...they hurt so much!" Angel cried as Seraph carried her on his back.

"I told you to rest if you're feeling tired, Angel," Seraph said, "We should count ourselves lucky that you didn't pull a muscle."

"That would have meant that I would be the one with the least amount of stamina in this group, Sepy!" Angel cried, "I didn't want to take such a heavy blow to my pride."

"You can be such a handful, Angel," Jurabi said, "Hard to believe that you were once so meek. Now you're talking about your pride like it means the world to you."

"B-be quiet, Juju!" Angel shouted, blushing a little, "I-I was not meek!"

"Angel, don't tell me you...wanted to impress us with your ability to keep up!" Seraph said, with a smug grin.

Angel's face became red as she turned her head away from both of them, "N-no! No I'm not! You guys must be hallucinating or something. Better go to the nurse to get that checked out."

"You sure are growing a spine, Angel," Jurabi pointed out.

"It's your fault for rubbing off on poor little me, Juju," Angel said with a pout.

"How is that my fault?" Jurabi asked.

"Heh, hehehe," Lynae let out a laugh, "Man, I thought you three were the weirdest trio I've ever seen, but...I think I'm starting to take a liking to you guys."

"That's good to hear," Seraph said, "I was afraid we were going to be a bother."

"No, you aren't," Lynae said, "I actually felt a lot better training with you guys. Thanks for staying with me for that long."

"It's no problem at all," Jurabi said.

"Well, well, if isn't the ruffian from the other day," Said a familiar voice.

They turned around to see the rich nobleman along with the two men who planned on attacking Lynae last night.

"Oh boy, you again?" Lynae asked, "The hell do you want?"

"Such improper manners," The nobleman said, "It is hard to believe that you lived in my home kingdom of Staneia. Who taught you such vile manners?"

"My mother," Lynae said, "And I don't regret that fact at all."

"Lynae, don't waste your time on this man," Seraph said, "He clearly thinks too highly of himself like most assholes I know."

"Yeah, he's the same one who was bothering a girl, wasn't he?" Angel asked, "Creeper."

"Don't worry, we've dealt with three people just like these guys," Jurabi said, "I'd say this encounter is like a case of deja vu."

"How dare you?!" The nobleman shouted, "I am a man of Staneian nobility! I will not tolerate this disrespect in my presence any longer."

"Just get to the point and tell us what you want," Lynae said with an unamused face.

"I still have not forgotten about what you have done," The nobleman said, "To challenge a noble like that means to challenge Staneia, but I will be merciful if you apologize to me, this instance."

"Ah, you're referring to that bruise on your arm," Lynae said before shrugging, "Okay, I'm sorry I got too rough with you."

"That does it! Prepare to face-" The nobleman stopped when he realized what Lynae just said, "Wait...I beg your pardon?"

"I'm. Sorry," Lynae said slowly, "I got too rough with you, I won't deny that. However, you should have left that girl alone when I told you to back off. She was clearly being bothered by your advances, but you didn't listen. So I opted for a form of persuasion that would make you listen. And make no mistake, I may be a ruffian who thinks with brute force, but unlike you, I will put the safety of the people I care about over making the people I hate suffer. I won't start a fight with you, but the moment you lay a hand on any of these three or any other girl…" She said, giving them a bone-chilling glare, "...you can bet your ass I'm going to finish it."

After a long period of silence, the nobleman cleared his throat, "I-I see...well…." He looked at Lynae's posture and could tell that she was serious, so did the men beside him, "You have...made your point clear, ma'am. Since you have apologized, I will uphold my virtue as an upstanding noble and will promise to not start a conflict with you or your friends again...nor will I bother any girl in this academy…"

"Then I will promise the same," Lynae said.

"Well, with that said, I bid you all farewell," The nobleman said turning to his men, "Come, gentlemen."

Once the three had left, Jurabi let out a sigh of relief, "That was a really impressive display of courage, if you ask me."

"Y-yeah, I was ready to watch the three of you beat them up," Angel said.

"You act like you wouldn't have joined in, Angel," Seraph said, watching Angel chuckle, taking it as a sign of her agreeing with him.

"Still don't like the fact that he didn't apologize for sending those bozos after me," Lynae said, "But...at this point, it's not even worth it."

"Are you sure?" Jurabi asked.

"Positive," Lynae said with a smile, "Besides, I would have ended up dragging you three in a bad situation. That would have made me into a terrible friend."

"You don't have to deal with everything on your own," Angel said, "I learned that lesson the hard way."

That was when Seraph heard the sounds of a footstep coming from his left.

"Who's there?" Seraph asked.

They all turned to the corner of the hallway. A girl with blonde hair and lavender eyes soon appeared from the corner.

"U-um, excuse me…" the girl said.

"Wait, you're that girl from this morning," Lynae said, recognizing the girl.

"I-I'm sorry," The girl said, "I didn't introduce myself. M-my name is Selena Crias."

"Why in the world were you hiding from us…?" Angel asked.

"You want to talk to me, don't you?" Lynae asked as she saw Selena nod, "Well, there's no need to be afraid. I won't do anything to hurt you."

"L-Lynae, I…" Selena began but Lynae cut her off.

"And you don't have to say anything either, Selena," Lynae said, her gaze turning to the floor with a frown on her face, "In the end, you and that noble asshat were right about me. No one got hurt, but it turns out that my temper ended up causing an even bigger problem than I thought. And I now realize that what I did that morning scared not only that noble but you, most of all. I only wanted to protect you, but when I heard he was a Staneian noble, my mind went blank. At that moment, I stopped protecting you and rather wanted to make that nobleman suffer. I deeply apologize for scaring you like that."

After hearing Lynae say those words, Selena took in a deep breath and worked up the courage to approach her, "Y-you don't need to apologize, Lynae. Even now, I can tell that you've been through a lot to feel that way towards Staneian nobles. So...I want to apologize to you for making you worry with what I said to you that morning. Thank you for helping me. I was ready to give in until you came to my aid. S-so...I hope we can be friends s-someday…"

"Selena…" Lynae said, her eyes widened in shock before she happily took Selena's hands, "Of course. I would be glad to be your friend here and now. I'll do my best to keep my anger in check, I promise you."

"Hehe, I'm glad to hear that," Selena said, blushing a little, "I-I need to go to the library and study. Have fun with your other friends, Lynae, b-but don't stay up too late," With that said, Selena left the entrance hall.

Lynae's smile never once left her face for a solid minute.

"I'm glad things worked out between you two," Seraph said, breaking the minute long ice.

"Yeah, so am I," Lynae said, "She had every right to want to avoid me, but instead she chose to face me and thank me for my actions, even though I was wrong to act that way."

"You helped her when she needed you. That's what counts. We all have our own ways of dealing with certain situations," Angel said.

"That's right," Jurabi said, "Even if you are a bit temperamental, it's that very temper that is proof that you're passionate about how you and others feel. That...is something I can never have."

"Jurabi…" Lynae said before she took Jurabi's hands and smiled at him, "You'll find that spark one day. Grimm or not, everything that has a heart can feel emotions. That's what I like to believe. Your positive emotions…I don't think they're gone entirely. I think they're just...asleep."

"Asleep?" Jurabi asked, "That's an odd way of putting it."

"Hahaha, I'll be sure to remember that line the day you're smiling like a kid on Christmas!" Lynae laughed, "But seriously, Jurabi, all of you, thank you for the advice. It shows me that you all really do care."

"By the way, what are we going to do about tomorrow after the lecture?" Seraph asked.

"Oh no…" Jurabi said.

"Please don't remind me," Lynae said.

"What? What's the problem?" Angel asked.

"...Detention…" All three of them said with a groan which made Angel laugh.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Outside Vastel Academy~~_

 _~~2 A.M.~~_

In the pitch black darkness of night, the nobleman was speaking to a figure at the academy gates.

"What?! With all do respect, Miss Pretorius, but I beg your pardon?!" Shouted the nobleman, who was talking with Guendolen.

"Need I repeat myself?" Guendolen asked with a cold, blank expression, "By order of my father, Griffon Pretorius, your status as a noble of Staneia has been dismantled, effective immediately."

"This is outrageous!" The nobleman said, "The Pretorius family may have the most authority of the four Vastel families, but not so much as to affect faunus nobility! You have no jurisdiction!"

"If I recall correctly, the current chief of Staneia, Riboku Webber, is the younger brother of the late Kane Webber," Guendolen said, "That would make him a lower class Chieftain as his brother would be the higher class Chieftain. Without a higher-class Chieftain, any orders from another higher-class Chieftain cannot be refused by the nation. If Kane Webber's daughter was still alive, she would have been able to challenge this order from my father. Sadly, that one child died alongside the late Chieftain. With no higher-class Chieftain, the Pretorius family has been given permission from His Majesty, King Elcrest, to oversee everything in Staneia, including its nobility."

"That's absurd! This is completely absurd!" The noblemen shouted, "You and that damn family has always been like this! You've always yearned to have all of Vastel under your rule. Why else have there been these strange occurrences with the other families? The untimely death of Kane Webber and his daughter, the disappearance of the Argyros family heir, and the assassination of the Ouro family heir! Those were all your family's doing, weren't they?!"

"I am not obligated to tell you anything," Guendolen said, turning away from him, "The Pretorius family has requested your presence at the Cathedral of Sacred Light. For the crime of abusing the powers granted to you by your nation and threatening to harm a student at this esteemed academy..." She then looked back at him with a bone-chilling stare from her yellow eyes, "...you shall face the judgement of the Light Guardian."

The nobleman felt a rush of fear through his body, "Y-you can't do that. Th-the Guardians are a myth. Y-You have no right!"

"We are followers of the Light Guardian," Guendolen said, "We have always had this right."

"Th-the people will wonder about this! A noble such as myself can't disappear from the world without a trace," the nobleman said.

"Yes, you couldn't have just disappeared," Guendolen said, "But no need to worry, my family has been doing this for three thousand years and will continue to do so. Take him away."

That was when a cloaked figure appeared from behind the noble man.

"Wh-wha?" The nobleman turned around and saw the cloaked figure face to face. What he saw inside that cloak horrified him, "N-no...NOOOOOOO!"

Guendolen walked back into Vastel Academy without shred of remorse.

…

…

…

"May you find peace in the Light Guardian's domain."

* * *

 _ **Jurabi Therion: Heeeeellooooooo~! This is Jurabi Therion, bringing you another chapter of The World of Vastel. We are almost to where we left off in the story. My god did I love writing this chapter for Lynae. Not as much as Angel's chapter, but man was it a close second.**_

 _ **Shout out to my friend, LazyfoxLover, for once again helping me out with this chapter. She has been doing a fantastic job helping me write these things out and make so much more progress.**_

 _ **I'm sure you all can't wait for this story to continue, neither can I! We only have one chapter left to rework. How much of a rework is needed, I'm not to sure, but we'll see once we get to that point.**_

 _ **Anyways, guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter! If you did, please let me know in the reviews and leave a favorite and a follow and also join me on my own discord server to have a nice chat. Thank you very much for reading. See you next chapter~!**_

 _ **Discord: (h) (t) (t) (p) (s) : / / discord . gg / yds39Vc**_


	12. Emblem Arc Chp 5: Pretest (Part 1)

**Previously on the World of Vastel…**

 _ **Angel: Y-you think they keep everything near the bottom for everyone to reach.**_

 _ **Nathan: You know, you could just ask someone for help. Seraph and I could have helped too.**_

 _ **Seraph: After the way she refused my help? Yeah, I'm not fighting that losing battle…**_

 _ **Nathan: Must be a short girl thing.**_

 _ **Angel: I am not short!**_

 **And now…back to Emblem Academy.**

 **Nathan: …Wow, nothing?**

 **Jurabi: It's been almost four months and I still have no skit for this! I've sat on this chapter long enough so let me do this Nathan!**

* * *

 **Emblem Arc Chp 5: Pretest (Part 1)**

 _~~Emblem Academy (Saturday, August 6)~~_

Today was the day for the pretest for the class of B-8. Almost everyone was present at the classroom except for a certain Grimm.

Jack was lightly tapping his foot, trying his best not to show his annoyance at how late Nathan was.

Aoife had already called everyone on her roll call except for Nathan. The absence of the Grimm puzzled her as she looked around and asked, "Has anyone seen Nathan?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Is he still in his room, perhaps?" Acacia asked, "It's odd for him to not be here for roll call."

"Maybe he's sick?" Dourado asked.

"Dourado, have you ever met a Grimm that got a tummy ache?" Seraph asked.

"No, but I sure would like to see one!" Dourado said happily.

That response got a little snicker out of Seraph before he said, "Th-that's not—haha…Oh, I can't even be mad at you."

"I'm starting to get worried," Angel said, her gaze towards the door hoping Nathan would walk in at any second, "You don't think something bad happened, do you?"

"Knowing Nathan, he's probably still stuck in his room tinkering with something," Jack said, still tapping his foot.

"Sorry for the tardiness, everyone," Nathan said as he entered the room, "I needed just a few more minutes before I left my room."

"Good morning, Nate-Nate~!" Aoife greeted.

"Professor, I thought I told you not to call me that," Nathan groaned.

In response, Aoife lightly tapped Nathan's head with her wand, Dust Malika, "And I thought I made it clear that I do not tolerate tardiness. As punishment, I'm going to call you that nickname for the entirety of next week!"

"What?!" Nathan shouted in disbelief as he heard his fellow classmates holding in their laughter.

"Speaking of tardiness, what was it that caused you to be so late?" Aoife asked.

"I was working on a new and improved Grimm armor," Nathan said, "I wouldn't have been able to finish if it hadn't been for my body no longer needing sleep to regain its energy."

"What?! A new armor?!" Lynae asked, "You've been working on that?!"

"And you can't sleep either?" Acacia asked.

Nathan shook his head, "It's strange, I know, but it's true. In any case, I managed to finish the armor for the pretest, if I am allowed to use it, of course."

"I'll have to speak with the director about that," Aoife said, "I am impressed that you build an armor in 72 hours."

"So…are we going to take the pre-test now?" Dourado asked, "Nervousness is killing me…"

"Yes, about the pretest," Aoife began as she took out a stack of papers and passed them out, "Before the pretest, it is an academy standard to take a pre-pretest test beforehand."

"A what, now?" Jack asked, tilting his head.

"A pre-pretest test," Aoife said with a smile.

" _Just call it a pre-test, Professor…"_ Nathan thought to himself, shaking his head at how hard it is to take his professor seriously, _"Regardless of what this is, I think this will have an effect on the actual pretest coming up."_

"You all have one hour to complete the pretest," Aoife said, "Don't rush, take your time, and do your best. Remember that this will not affect your grade in the slightest. You may begin."

The students began their pretest and scanned the questions asked on the test papers.

The pretest was divided into four sections: Hunter Tactics, Grimm Biology, Weapon Knowledge, and Vastel History.

" _Wow…I didn't think a simple pretest would have this many questions,"_ Seraph thought to himself as he looked at the detailed questions, _"But I don't think I'll have too much trouble. I'm more worried about Lynae and Nathan."_

Angel looked over the pretest and didn't find many issues with it because she studied about hunters with her father when she was young, _"Hm…daddy must have taken this test. Most of these questions are the same ones he used for my study,"_ She thought to herself, _"Although, it seems Vastel History might not have been his strong suit…"_

Lynae, however, wouldn't stop scratching her head as she looked further into the test, _"Oh boy…I should have focused more on studying this kind of stuff. I was way too busy trying to get the Underground Queen title…"_

Nathan let out a sigh as he looked at his questions, _"Not surprised that everything except weapons are unknown to me. Well, I'll have to make the best with what I can do."_

One hour has passed.

"Okay, pencils down and hands under your desk," Aoife said as she walked around and gathered all the test papers. Once she finished, she took a look at the different expressions of her students. Just from that alone, she was able to discern who passed with flying colors and who didn't. She gave them a smile, "Good job doing your absolute best regardless of prior knowledge. I know this test was unlike anything some of you have experienced, but my goal by the end of the year is to have all of you pass this test with confidence."

"Really?" Acacia asked, "The test didn't feel as difficult as the professor is saying.

" _That's good_ ," Dourado thought, breathing a sigh of relief, _"Because I might not have done well."_

" _That test wasn't easy,"_ Jack thought, _"Especially the stuff on Grimm biology part."_

Guendolen remained silent, both in speaking and in her thoughts.

"I'll be going to grade all of these in my office," Aoife said, "Please remain here and behave until I come back."

After Aoife left the class room, Angel immediately bolted to Nathan's desk so fast that it surprised the Grimm to see her run up to him like that.

"Nathan! How did you do?! Huh?! Tell me! Tell me!" Angel shouted in anticipation.

"Ah!" Nathan shouted as he fell off his chair and the back of his head hit the desk behind him, "Ow…"

"Oh no, are you alright?" Angel asked.

"Aside from my head getting split opened, I'm absolutely peachy…" Nathan said sarcastically as he rubbed his head.

"Geez, Angel, you could have at least walked towards Nathan," Seraph said, moving to pick Nathan up.

"S-s-s-sorry!" Angel shouted, bowing in Nathan's direction.

"It's fine, Angel," Nathan said, sitting back on his seat.

"Someone sounds excited to know other people's grades," Lynae said walking in on the conversation.

"Um…yes," Angel said, shyly looking down at the ground.

"I understand that you want to see how we all did," Lynae said, "This pretest has to have had some purpose, otherwise we wouldn't have gotten it."

"That's true," Seraph said, "That test alone might have determined our teams."

"Yeah, there's usually a written portion of an exam and then the physical exam that tests a person's capabilities as a hunter," Nathan said, "So there's a chance that the teams will be put together to take that very physical pretest."

"Oooh, if so then I _really_ want to be with you guys," Angel said as her breathing became faster, "The idea of not being on the same team as all of you is…well…"

"Heartbreaking?" Lynae asked.

"Yes, that," Angel said.

"There's no need to be so hung up on teams, Angel," Seraph said, "Like the professor said a few days back. This entire class is one big team. We're only splitting into two for the sake of practice and competition."

"I know that, but still…" Angel said.

"Seraph's right," Lynae said, "No point in getting hung up on something you have no control over. Even if we get separated, we'll still be friends, right?"

"Yeah…you're right," Angel said with a smile.

"Friends…" Nathan muttered.

After almost an hour has passed, Aoife returned to the classroom with the graded papers in her hand.

"I'm back~!" Aoife shouted as certain students looked at her with anticipation, "I will say that I am not 100 percent surprised by the outcome and overall grades. This is a pretest after all, so don't lose hope if you get the grade you weren't hoping for, and for those who passed take time to help the people who didn't pass. That is the duty of a hunter: Helping others in need. Now here is the ranking from highest score to the lowest."

" _Wait, she's going to announce the grades to everyone?!"_ Lynae thought in her mind as her eyes widened in fear.

" _Oh no, I'm not ready for this!"_ Dourado thought in his head, panicking at the thought that he might be the lowest grade in the class.

"At number 1 with a perfect score…Guendolen Pretorius," Aoife said.

"A…perfect score?" Lynae asked.

"Wait, is that even possible?" Seraph asked.

"Wow…I thought I was going to get the highest score even though I was confused on like two questions," Angel said.

"Number 2…Angel Webber. 3…Acacia Woods, 4…Seraph Argyros, 5…Nathan Therion, 6…Jack Starfeld, 7…Lynae Kyanos, and 8…Dourado Ouro," Aoife announced as she saw panic in certain students while others hadn't changed their expressions in the slightest, "As I've said before, there's no need to panic. Your answers on this pre-test weren't the only things I was looking for."

"Th-they weren't?" Dourado asked.

"The four sections that we were tested on to show our strengths and weaknesses," Guendolen said.

"Ah, so one of you did notice it," Aoife said, "I'm impressed, Gueny~."

"Don't call me that," Guendolen said with a chill in her emotionless voice.

"Teehee," Aoife giggled before she continued, "So as Guendolen said, you were all tested to see where your strengths and weaknesses lie when it comes to your overall knowledge of subjects required to be a hunter. The four subjects were Hunter Tactics, Grimm Biology, Weapon Knowledge, and Vastel History. I calculated all the necessary points in each section and wrote on your papers your strengths and weaknesses at this stage, and it is in these strengths and weakness that will determine your teams for the pretest examination," Aoife said as she handed out the papers.

All of the students looked over their tests. Each of their papers had a strengths and weakness category, which is what Aoife told would be on them.

 **Nathan**

 _Strength: Weapon Knowledge_

 _Weakness: Vastel History_

 **Seraph**

 _Strength: Hunter Tactics_

 _Weakness: Grimm Biology_

 **Angel**

 _Strength: Grimm Biology_

 _Weakness: Weapon Knowledge_

 **Lynae**

 _Strength: Vastel History_

 _Weakness: Hunter Tactics_

 **Acacia**

 _Strength: Hunter Tactics_

 _Weakness: Weapon Knowledge_

 **Jack**

 _Strength: Weapon Knowledge_

 _Weakness: Grimm Biology_

 **Dourado**

 _Strength: Grimm Biology_

 _Weakness: Vastel History_

"Ah, I knew it," Dourado said, letting out a sigh, "History really kicked my butt here."

"Look on the bright side," Jack said, "At least you don't suck at Grimm Biology like I did. I fail to see the point in understanding a Grimm's body if our purpose is to kill them."

"I am surprised the professor marked Grimm Biology as your strength, Dourado," Acacia said, "How did that happen?"

"Well, I remember this one question that talked about the plating you see on certain Grimm," Dourado said, "The question asked what the plating was made of. My granddad was a former Grimm biologist and taught me a bit about Grimm biology. Sadly, they don't ask the same questions here in Astea as they would in Morillia, so I still bombed that part. But that one plating question I think I got right since I answered it so confidently."

"Well that's good for you," Acacia said, "Maybe you should teach me and Jack some biology."

"How did you do, Acacia?" Dourado asked.

"Me?" Acacia asked.

"Yeah, you," Dourado said.

"Well that…all depends on what Guendolen got," Acacia said, deflecting the question and changing the subject to Guendolen.

Guendolen turned to them after hearing her name mentioned, "You're really asking that?" She asked, "The professor said that I did perfectly."

"Yeah, we know, but we're still curious," Jack said.

"Don't professors usually leave notes or smiley faces if you do good on a test?" Dourado asked.

"That's in elementary school, Dourado," Acacia said.

"There's nothing of the sort on my paper," Guendolen said, "Just a paper with no marks on it whatsoever."

"Okay, if you say so," Dourado said.

Guendolen looked back at her paper containing her strengths and weaknesses.

 **Guendolen**

 _Strength: Vastel History_

 _Weakness: Hunter Tactics (Gueny, please speak to me after the pretest examination! :*P)_

"Agh…damn, I know I did bad but this…" Lynae shouted, with her head buried under her arms.

"You did alright when it came to everything else, but tactics for you is a big yikes," Seraph said.

"Shut up!" Lynae shouted, "It's not my fault the test asked confusing questions about how to position yourself before a fight. What's the point of positioning when you're still going to kill them in the end?"

"And yet you managed to get Vastel History as your strength," Angel pointed out.

"Well, that's because Dilan taught me a bit about Ganvie's history a long time ago," Lynae said, "Though, that didn't do me much good."

"Let me guess: You were stuck on the ambush question, right?" Seraph asked as Lynae nodded, "Setting up an ambush requires good positioning before the battle begins, plus, you need a good place to hide to avoid detection. If all of these pieces are in place, you'll have a perfect ambush to catch a Grimm off guard—which is the best time to attack with everything you have."

"Wow…" Nathan said.

"Oh…so that's what that question was looking for," Lynae said.

"…That's…how I answered it at least," Seraph said, playing with his hair while looking away, "I'm not perfect by any means, as presented by my low score on Grimm biology."

"That's alright, Seraph," Angel said, "I'm more than willing to give you a tutoring session. Learning about Grimm is kind of similar to learning the human body—something that my clan is well known for."

"You mean the Snow Crescent Moon clan, right?" Lynae asked as Angel nodded in response, "I've heard about them in a book I read. Apparently, their healing techniques date back to the beginnings of Vastel 700 years ago and has improved ever since. The Webber family in particular came from a long line of clan chiefs that originally began with the founder and creator of the healing techniques, Tamiko Webber."

"Huh, you sure know the history of my clan, Lynae," Angel said, "It's no wonder your strength is in history."

"That's surprising," Seraph said, "You have such an…anti-history vibe."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Lynae shouted, "So what if I'm a little curious about a culture's history?! I still bombed this pre-test either way."

"At least we know where your strengths and weaknesses are," Nathan said, "Obviously, I aced the Weapon Knowledge, but everything else was not so great; especially history."

"Living the sheltered life has done a lot to you, huh?" Seraph asked.

"It has," Nathan replied.

Aoife clapped her hands together to gain back her students' attention, "Okay, I will now group you all into four groups of two. The partner you are placed with will be your academy partner for the remainder of your time at Emblem Academy."

"The remainder of our time?" Acacia asked.

"That's right," Aoife said, "About four years since all of you are freshmen. You and your partner will sometimes be tasked with assigned chores and requests that will help build the citizen's trust in your reliability as a hunter."

"We're seriously going to do chores?" Seraph asked with a small groan.

"They're more than just chores, Mr. Argyros," Aoife said, "The academy does not wish to leave the extra work for janitors, so we are to lend a hand if anything beyond their capabilities occur."

"But for four years?" Angel asked, "I don't think I have the mental stamina for that kind of stuff…"

"Now then, here are the groups," Aoife said taking out a sheet of paper, "Group A: Guendolen Pretorius and Dourado Ouro."

"Wait…what?!" Dourado asked, his face taking a full second to change into a shocked and horrified expression.

"The lowest grade with the highest grade," Acacia said, "Good luck with the Pretorius, Dourado."

"Yeah, I'll be sure to stop by your funeral," Jack said, placing a hand on Dourado's shoulder.

"You're not helping!" Dourado shouted.

Guendolen did not say a word, _"Four years with the loudest person in the room? This is much different from how things are done in my family—too different for my liking."_

"Group B will be Angel Webber and Lynae Kyanos," Aoife announced.

"Hell yeah!" Lynae shouted as she wrapped her arm around Angel's neck, "It's going to be a pleasure working with you for the next four years, Angel!"

Lynae's screaming, however, was causing Angel's ears to hurt, "Ow! Lynae…pl-please don't shout in my ear!"

"Oh, sorry," Lynae said, "I'm just so excited."

"Group C: Seraph Argyros and Nathan Therion," Aoife continued.

"Heh, well it looks like our team formation's going smoothly," Seraph said with a confident smile.

"Now the real challenge will be getting both C and B on the same team," Nathan said.

"And finally, Group D: Jack Starfeld and Acacia Woods," Aoife said.

"I'm partnered with a guy with a sketchy past?" Acacia asked.

"You're one to talk since you seem to avoid talking about yourself," Jack said before letting out a sigh, "I guess we'll just have to make it work."

"All of you come from different lands and cultures," Aoife said, "You also have different views and ideals, but here in this academy we are comrades and, more importantly, a family. Do not be so quick to push away your partner simply because they are different from you. If you do now, this pretest examination coming up will prove to be an impossible challenge. For now, head to the Hanger Bay. I'll be there soon, but first I need to stop by my office," She said, glancing at Guendolen for a moment before leaving the room.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Drop Ship Hangar Bay~~_

The class of B-8 arrived at the drop ship hanger bay. There, they saw a lot of hunters ranging from new students to veterans boarding specified drop ships.

The class was greeted by a familiar man, Nebula.

"Welcome to the Hangar Bay, Class B-8," Nebula said.

"Nebula?" Nathan asked, "I didn't know you worked here."

"There's quite a bit about me you don't know about, Mr. Therion," Nebula said, "I must say that I was a bit hurt that you blew that cover story I spent so much time making."

"That Nebula and _I_ spent so much time making," Aoife corrected.

"It was mostly me doing all the work, Chanadani," Nebula said, giving Aoife a stern glare.

"Hehe," Aoife giggled as she backed off, "So, Nebs. You mind giving my class clearance to take the pretest? Everyone's present and accounted for."

"I thought I told you not to call me by that ridiculous nickname," Nebula growled as he began typing on his computer, "There. Class B-8 will take Transport 16. Be sure to have all of your equipment ready in 15 minutes."

"Thanks," Aoife said as she turned to her class, "Go and get your weapons. You all are going to be showing everything you have to offer out there."

"Yes, ma'am," The class said as they went to gather their belongings.

While Aoife waited for her class, she got bored and noticed Nebula silently typing away at his computer.

"Is silently typing on that thing all you do every day, Nebula?" Aoife asked, breaking the ice.

"Yes, it's a part of my job—a job that I am being paid to do to keep a roof over my head and dinner on the table," Nebula said sarcastically.

"It wouldn't hurt to chat with your own gal, Aoife," Aoife said, feeling a bit hurt.

"Talking breaks my concentration, which is about to happen if you don't stop talking, Miss Chanadani," Nebula said.

"Fine, be that way, Mr. Stoic," Aoife said, rolling her eyes with a pout.

That was when Elcrest arrived at the Hangar Bay, the first thing he sees being Aoife's pout, "Well that's a face I don't see on you often, Miss Chanadani."

"Oh, Director," Aoife said, "You're out of your office?"

"Yes, I wish to see your class in action personally," Elcrest replied, "After all, these eight students have much potential that even I am taking notice of. Plus, I wish to see this early semblance awakening first hand."

"Well I assure you that my students won't disappoint," Aoife said, "I don't just recommend people I like at first glance."

"Of course, you don't," Elcrest said, "I am looking forward to seeing what these students have to offer, especially with Nathan in the mix."

That was when Nathan walked over wanting to speak with Aoife, "Professor, I have a question about—" He then noticed Elcrest, "Oh, Director Altreve! I didn't expect to see you here."

"Hello, Nathan," Elcrest greeted with a smile and wave, "It's been a while. I trust you're getting used to the academy."

"Well…I won't lie," Nathan began, "It is a bit difficult."

"Hm…that's understandable," Elcrest said, "In fact, you're reminding me a lot of how your mother started out here."

"My mother?" Nathan asked.

"Oh, I remember how Eli was so well," Aoife said, "She was known as the class clown by a few key classes. One time, I remember this whoopie cushion prank she pulled on the director here. She ended up having to write on the chalkboard for weeks."

"Miss Chanadani…I would prefer you not reveal my embarrassing moments in front of Nathan so casually," Elcrest said, blushing.

"Hehe, sorry I couldn't resist," Aoife said, "So what was it you wanted to ask, Nathan?"

"Well I was about to ask about you talking with the director about my proposition, but since he's here, that makes this all the better," Nathan said turning to Elcrest, "Director, with your permission, may I use my prototype armor during the pretest?"

"Prototype armor?" Elcrest asked.

"Yes, during my sparring matches with my classmates, I've taken note of all the flaws in my way of fighting and built an armor that should prove both more suitable and more durable in a fight requiring versatility."

"Interesting," Elcrest said, "Although, it is standard that we not allow students to bring any special tools for any exam, not to mention the risks involved due to the implications of this creation of yours being in the prototype stage. Under normal circumstances, I would need to decline your offer."

"I see…" Nathan said.

"Director, I can vouch for Nathan," Aoife stepped in, "He's had a good reputation of pulling off a prototype on your first try and so far in his time here he has proven himself willing to not make any mistakes."

"It is when someone takes the mentality of not making any mistakes where said mistakes occur the most, Miss Chanadani," Elcrest said, "But…mistakes allow people to improve upon their skills. I will give you a pass Nathan, but you must use extreme caution. This is simply a pretest and any injury that occurs on your watch will not be taken likely."

"I understand, Director," Nathan said, "Thank you."

"Excellent," Elcrest said.

"Director, Miss Chanadani, Transport 16 is ready to go," Nebula announced.

"Now then, shall we?" Elcrest asked.

Once the class of B-8 was ready, they boarded their assigned drop ship headed for the Loyal Hills. On the way, Elcrest couldn't help but examine Nathan once again.

"I must say, Nathan, I'm amazed that you were able to control those powers of yours," Elcrest said.

"Control is a loose term to use, Director," Nathan said, "It's more that I found a way to keep my powers from consuming my soul, than I did control them. I have to rely on my Grimm armor not only to survive attacks but to also keep from turning into an Apathy mid fight."

"I see," Elcrest said, "And you managed to build such armor in a cave of all places."

"Indeed, he did," Aoife said, "My little Nate-Nate is a special one~!"

"And your nickname for me is a nuisance, Professor," Nathan remarked, which got a chuckle out of Elcrest, "Speaking of my armor, I was hoping to use my new prototype Grimm armor in the pretest, if that is okay with you," Nathan said.

"By all means, Nathan, I'd love to see what you have in store," Elcrest said, "After all, you have your mission Emperor Vizak entrusted you."

"About that mission…do you believe I'll be able to do it?" Nathan asked, "To kill the three Elder Grimm?"

"I won't lie to you," Elcrest began with a sigh, "I'm unsure about our chances of success either. Not only are your actual skills in combat lacking, but you do not possess many of the benefits of aura that other hunters do. I don't even know if you possess a semblance."

"Regardless if Nathan has aura and semblance or not, he still has potential," Aoife said, "That's why I took him as my student, because I believe he can beat the Elder Grimm. You have my word, Director. Nathan and the rest of my class will show excellent results by the end of the year."

"Professor…" Nathan said.

"Well, if you believe in him, Miss Chanadani, then I shouldn't have any room for doubt either," Elcrest said before turning to Nathan, "We all have high hopes for you, Nathan. Do not let us down."

Nathan nodded, "I won't."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Kingdom of Astea: Loyal Hills~~_

The drop ship arrived at the Loyal Hills, an expansive, grassy plateau full of hills that vary in size and shape with a large forest at its center.

"So, this is the Loyal Hills," Nathan said, examining the environment.

"It's so wide," Acacia said, "I wonder how far it goes."

"According to examinations, the Loyal Hills is about 20 miles long," Aoife said.

"20 miles?!" Dourado asked, "You could build a whole new city here!"

"I agree," Jack said, "Why is it that a city was never built here?"

"…It was out of respect of the people who died here," Nathan said as everyone looked at him with confused glances.

"People died here?" Angel asked.

"He's referring to the Loyal Hills Tragedy 40 years ago," Elcrest said, "This place once had peaceful villages and farms. It was bountiful with crops, food, and agriculture. But then…the tragedy. An army of Grimm appeared from nowhere and attacked the Loyal Hills, killing everyone."

"Everyone except one person, Nitorin Therion," Aoife said.

"My father…" Nathan said.

"A Grimm army that appeared out of nowhere?" Lynae asked, "How is that possible?"

"Yeah, Grimm are many things, but sneaky isn't one of them," Seraph said.

"I know the story sounds bizarre," Aoife said, "To this day, we don't know what caused the Grimm to suddenly become violent enough to want to engage in such a large-scale attack like that. Ever since that day, the Loyal Hills has been used as an area to gauge and test the strengths and weaknesses every new coming hunter possesses."

"But in any case, it is time to begin the Class of B-8's Hunter Pretest," Elcrest said as he took out a hologram that showed a detailed map of the Loyal Hills, "The instructions for this test are simple. Your four teams, which Miss Chanadani assigned in class, will each start at four selected points far away from each other. You will make your way to this forest at the center of the plateau called Nabenta Forest."

"With all due respect, Director, do we all truly need to pair up?" Guendolen asked, "The eight of us are already a class together."

"While it is true that you all technically do not require the pair up process other classes go through, I believe it would be best to do so in case we need to separate the class should an emergency situation arises," Elcrest said.

"So, like say…there's a duel Grimm attack in separate locations and our class is the only one available to respond," Jack said.

"Correct," Elcrest said, "There are eight crystals located at an altar. Each person's goal is to obtain one of those crystals and bring them to the drop ships back here. There may be a surprise or two waiting for you all, but what those surprises are is for me to know and for you all to work around. Any questions?"

Angel raised her hand, "Um, yes…what do these crystals look like?"

"Oh, don't worry," Elcrest reassured, "You'll know them when you see them."

"Sir, the drop ships are ready to depart," A technician said.

"Good, now make your way to your assigned dropships," Elcrest said, "They will take you to your starting points.

Four dropships, each carrying the assigned teams of two, flew off into four different directions.

After a few minutes of waiting, Elcrest turned to an operator and asked, "Have they arrived at their destination?"

"Yes, sir," The operator replied.

Elcrest moved to take a look at the map and saw eight beacons spread out on the plateau in different directions, "Excellent."

"They'll give nothing short of their best, Director," Aoife said, "I told them to do that much."

"We shall see," Elcrest said.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Loyal Hills: West~~_

The four groups of the class of B-8 were dropped off in several different directions throughout the Loyal Hills.

Acacia and Jack to the north, Lynae and Angel to the east, Nathan and Seraph to the west, and Guendolen and Dourado to the south.

With Nathan and Seraph, the first thing they noticed was how barren and gray the grass and soil looked throughout the region. There were some ruined remains of stone that appear to once be human-built houses once upon a time.

Seeing ruins like this reminded Nathan of Hellavese which made him feel something twisting inside him.

Seraph noticed this and looked at Nathan, "You alright?"

"Y-yes…" Nathan said, "Seeing ruins like this brings back bad memories."

Seraph then scanned the ruins before saying, "This is the world the Grimm will create if hunters like us don't stop them, Nathan. That must be what the professor and director want us to see first-hand."

"…Is that so?" Nathan asked, "How many people were killed here? How much life was taken without remorse…?"

"Who can say?" Seraph asked, "All we can do now is work up the courage to walk through this."

"You're right," Nathan said before he reached into his bag and took out a small, red capsule, "But first I need to get my new armor on."

Seraph turned to look at the small capsule in Nathan's hand, "Nathan, that's a capsule."

"Indeed, it is, but what's inside the capsule is the important question," Nathan said.

"What's inside?" Seraph asked.

"Better to just show you," Nathan then threw the capsule into the air. The capsule began to open up and to Seraph's absolute bewilderment, a long, mobile locker popped out of the small capsule, "Tadaaa…." Nathan chimed in the most monotone voice.

"…" Seraph's was completely at a loss for words, for his mind was too busy processing what he just saw.

"Yeah…. that face sums it all up," Nathan said, "This is my protype invention: A Transport Capsule. It's meant to fit any one item inside a small capsule for easy transport. Neat, isn't it?"

"I-I guess," Seraph said, scratching his head, "But, how did you get that locker to fit in that small thing."

"Now that part…wasn't easy," Nathan explained, "In fact, I'm still figuring out the easiest way to get large objects inside a small capsule. Thankfully I managed to get my armor locker in there for the pretest."

"You sure come up with the weirdest gadgets, Nathan," Seraph said.

Nathan pushed inputted a button sequence that allowed the locker to be opened.

Inside the locker was a new armor that looked much different from Nathan's first. The most obvious difference was in its dark red color as opposed to the last's black color. There was slightly less chest armor plating than from the original, but it appeared more light and easier to control.

Seraph let out an impressed whistle, "You made this in a week?"

"Exactly as I said," Nathan said as he allowed the armor to automatically place itself onto his body, "The real challenge now is seeing how this performs in a fight. The forest should be up ahead. The sooner we get there, the better."

After Nathan walked on ahead, Seraph continued to examine how he looked in that armor and raised his eyebrows in approval, "Now I'm starting to want one."

"Seraph, come on!" Nathan shouted, noticing Seraph had not moved.

"Oh yeah, sorry," Seraph said as he caught up to Nathan and the two make their way to Nabenta Forest.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~East~~_

Meanwhile, Angel and Lynae were walking through a ruined town of their own in the east.

While Lynae wasn't affected by the eerie atmosphere the town gave off, Angel's legs shivered in fright.

"I-I don't like the look of this place," Angel stuttered out.

"It's okay, Angel," Lynae said, "You can stick behind me if it makes you feel better."

"Thanks, Lynae," Angel said, "I wonder if Nathan and Seraph will be okay."

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Lynae said, "I know tough men when I see them. So, let's focus on joining up with them in Nabenta Forest."

"Yeah, Nathan and Seraph both look tough," Angel said, gaining her confidence, "Alright, no more being scared. I can't make my friends look bad, after all. Let's do—" Then a piece of rubble attached to a ruined building fell off and hit the ground, making a huge sound, "EEEEK! A GRIMM ATTACK!" Angel screamed as she leapt into the air and fell into Lynae's arms.

"Hehehe! Relax, Angel," Lynae said, "It's only a piece of rubble," She nudged her head in the direction of the rubble that fell.

Feeling a little calmer, Angel jumped out of Lynae's arms and bowed, "So sorry for doing that to you, Lynae."

"Ah it's no big deal," Lynae said, "I'm used to carrying people—both boys and girls alike. Now let's hurry to that forest, shall we?"

"Yes," Angel said as the two made their way to Nabenta Forest.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~North~~_

To the north, Jack and Acacia walked through a ruined village of their own.

"This place has seen better days," Acacia said.

"…Yeah…" Jack said, staring at the rubble with an intense look.

"Why the look, Jack?" Acacia asked, "I didn't take you for a person sensitive to places like this."

"Well you know me about as much as I know you, Acacia," Jack said, "Let's just say that I'm used to seeing places like this."

"Aren't we all?" Acacia said, "There are two kinds of hunters in this life: Those who've seen plenty ruins such as this, and those who lived sheltered lives."

"Which kind are you?" Jack asked.

"Me? What a question to ask," Acacia said, placing a hand on her chin, "Perhaps the answers will be in the center of Nabenta Forest."

"I don't see how an answer to a simple question can lie in a dead forest," Jack said, tilting his head while wearing a confused expression.

"Come along, now," Acacia said, "We haven't got all day."

"Ugh…she diverted the topic again…" Jack groaned.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~South~~_

At the southern parts of the Loyal Hills, Guendolen and Dourado were not at a ruined village like the others were, but were instead at lake.

Dourado was too busy checking out the lake while Guendolen looked around at the surroundings to figure out which way the Nabenta Forest is.

"Woooow….!" Dourado shouted in awe as he felt the lake water in his hands, "I've never seen water as clear and bright as this!"

"Mr. Ouro," Guendolen began, "It would be most beneficial to both of us if you spent your energy assisting me in finding Nabenta Forest instead of wasting it on frivolous activities."

"Uh…. frivolous?" Dourado asked, "Sorry, I'm not good with big words, Grendol…uh…Grenny…?"

"Guendolen," Guendolen corrected, "But you must address me by my last name, Pretorius."

"But why?" Dourado asked, "We're classmates."

"I do not remember giving anyone permission to use my first name in a casual manner," Guendolen explained, "Not even Professor Chanadani."

Dourado let out a sigh, "Fine…I'll address you properly. But you can call me Dourado if you'd like."

"I wouldn't like that," Guendolen said, "So I will address you by your last name."

"What?!" Dourado asked, "I just gave you—you know what? Forget it."

"If we have time to waste talking to each other, then we have time to look for Nabenta Forest," Guendolen said, "If I calculate the angle of the sun from this spot, I would say we are South or southwest from Nabenta Forest. Based on the positioning of the sun…" She began as she turned to her left where the sun was, and then pointed to her right, "Nabenta Forest is this way."

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh…." Dourado scratched his head, "What are you talking about?"

Guendolen's expression didn't change, but she shook her head and thought to herself, _"I can't believe this faunus will be my partner for the remaining four years,"_ She pointed to her right again, "I am saying that Nabenta Forest is this way."

"Wow, you managed to figure that out?" Dourado asked, "Great job. Looks like I have to start pulling my weight if I want to be as smart as you."

Guendolen didn't say a word as the two began to make their way to Nabenta Forest.

" _Man…Guendolen's way too good,"_ Dourado thought to himself, _"I'm starting to wonder if this pair up we have is going to work out. I hope I don't end up slowing her down."_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~With Aoife~~_

Aoife and Elcrest both watched the four group of hunters make their way to Nabenta Forest via surveillance.

"So far so good," Elcrest said, "The new students seem to be taking in their surroundings well, despite the atmosphere this place brings."

"Indeed, that may be due to their upbringings in their lives," Aoife said.

Elcrest turned to one of the operators and said, "Activate the test robots. Set them to difficulty seven."

"Yes, Director," An operator replied as he and his team began activating several test bots scattered throughout Loyal Hills.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~With Nathan and Seraph~~_

Nathan and Seraph managed to exit the ruined village and happened upon the mouth of Nabenta Forest, a wide area just outside the forest.

"No trouble so far," Nathan said.

"Yeah, but this is a hunter pretest," Seraph said, his right hand resting on the hilt of Kitsuki, "It's likely that we'll be fighting those test bots I've heard about."

"Test bots?" Nathan asked.

That was when they both heard loud, beeping sounds that belong to machines. Two human-sized robots rose from the ground in front of them. The robot with the callsign: T-84 carried an assault rifle and the other with the callsign: T-46 carried a katana.

"Those test bots," Seraph said, taking out Kitsuki and going into a battle stance.

Nathan scanned the two robots as he took out Fallen Angel and recognized the metal plating on their bodies, "That metal…"

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~With Angel and Lynae~~_

Angel and Lynae were almost at the forest until they felt the ground shake. Then a medium-sized robot with a callsign: G-28 carrying a blue shield rose from the ground.

"Whoa, look at the size of that thing!" Lynae shouted, preparing her gauntlets, Chimera, "Must be part of the pretest!"

"A-are we expected to take that down?" Angel asked.

"If they are expecting us to do that, it'll boost our performance grade if we take it down," Lynae said as she rushed at the test robot, "Let's do it, Angel!"

"W-wait, Lynae!" Angel shouted, but her words didn't reach Lynae, "I can't let her fight that thing on her own," Angel then took out a green bow decorated in flowers that strangely had no strings that are usually seen on bows, "Hold on, Lynae. Toru and I will support you."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~With Jack and Acacia~~_

Jack and Acacia were facing off against a test robot of their own. A dark red robot with the callsign: A-3 that had crescent-moon blades sticking out the sides of its arms.

"An assassin class robot," Jack said, "The tin metal on its blades isn't strong enough to cut through bodies."

"You surprise me, Jack," Acacia said, "I didn't know you had knowledge on what an assassin looks like."

Jack didn't respond and instead took out two kusarigamas (a Japanese style sickle) that are attached to a chain and a weight that are attached to his arms, each kusarigama has two blades on each handle, "Assassin or not, if they pose a threat, I'll simply have Wind Bracer eliminate it."

"Saying something like "eliminate" makes you sound like an assassin yourself," Acacia said, taking out a pair of iron grey tonfa's that had a rectangular build with two flat, lilac blades on the bottom sides pointing up and towards each other, "Don't go hogging all the glory. My Pressure Grove hasn't seen action in a while."

"As long as you don't get in my way, I'm fine with it," Jack said as they both prepared to face A-3.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~With Guendolen and Dourado~~_

Guendolen and Dourado faced off against a robot more advanced than its three siblings. For one, it had no legs yet was hovering in the air. Second, its left arm was shaped like a bow and its body was covered in stronger armor plating than the rest. It's callsign was U-55.

"A test robot with a bow," Guendolen said, "Judging from the fact that it does not require legs to function, I can conclude that this particular robot with excel in maneuverability and accuracy. All of that in addition to the armor plating it possesses would make this a difficult fight."

"Who cares about all that mumbo-jumbo?" Dourado asked, readying a large, tan greatsword with a golden and black towershield attached to his forearm, "One swing from Gloria Eterna will shatter that armor to pieces."

"Relying too much on the strength of your weapon will lead to failure," Guendolen said, taking out a one-handed shortsword proficiently sharpened and completed with a sun-resembling emblem on the hilt. It had a blue tint due to the material making up the sword. The sword itself does not appear to have any sign of having a gun variation, "This test robot will out maneuver your attacks and defeat you with ease. My speed combined with precise strikes from Blue Hypergiant will make quick work of it."

"Wait, then what should I do?" Dourado asked.

"You stay back, Mr. Ouro. I fight better on my own," Guendolen said as she rushed off towards U-55 to fight it.

"Guendolen! Wait!" Dourado shouted.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~With Aoife~~_

"Director, the specified test robots have been activated and are engaging the students," An operator said.

"Good, I trust that all of them are not set to kill," Elcrest said.

"Yes sir," The operator replied, "T-84's bullets are non-lethal as are T-46's and A-3's blades. G-28 is set only to counter only when attacked. And U-55 is fitted with dust arrows that will only affect the hunters' aura, but cannot deal any physical damage."

"Excellent. Continue to monitor the robots and ensure that no errors occur," Elcrest said before turning to the operator next to the one he spoke to, "Is the final test robot, G-8, ready?"

"Yes, sir," The operator replied, "All proper tests have been run and it is a confirmed go. We're just waiting on your orders to activate."

"Quite the pretest you've prepared, Director," Aoife said, "I don't recall you ever using test robots in any other pretest."

"There is a purpose in all of this, as you will see," Elcrest said, "I plan on setting the bar of expectations higher for future hunters. With the increase activity from the Elder Grimm…I'm afraid it's our only option."

"Then my students will have to increase their efforts in order to exceed those high expectations," Aoife said.

"You say that, but…" Elcrest said, looking over at the surveillance videos, "I am already seeing problems among all of your students."

"Ah, so you noticed too," Aoife said.

They first looked over at Jack and Acacia's fight against A-3.

Jack was on the offensive, attacking the robot with Wind Bracer, but the robot was dodging every attack he sent at it.

Acacia, on the other hand, had Pressure Grove in gun form with two hand guns. She was looking for a good shot at the robot, but because of how fast both fighters were going, it was difficult for her to keep up, let alone get a good shot on the robot without risk of hitting Jack.

A-3 jumped over one of Jack's attacks and dives straight towards Acacia without warning.

Her body moved before her body could think. Acacia changed Pressure Grove back to its weapon form to block the attack.

Jack then threw one of the Wind Bracer blades at the occupied robot, but A-3 again jumped out of the way of the same attack that hit Acacia, causing her to stumble a little.

"I can sense the distrust between those two," Elcrest said, "From Jack, it's amplified by Acacia's curiosity for even the darkest of stories. This is affecting their teamwork because Jack could have easily talked to Acacia of their plan since the robots are programmed to react to movement they see, not what they hear. And Grimm cannot understand human language, so why the silence? They both need a plan to fight A-3."

"It may have something to do with Jack's history as a bandit," Aoife explained, "He never wanted to talk about that life he had. Either way, Acacia needs to break this ice between them or they will never get past this opponent."

They then moved on to Angel and Lynae's fight against G-28.

Lynae is hitting the robot with everything she has, but her punches and kicks were all blocked by the robot's shield.

Admits the flurry of attacks from her, the robot parried one of Lynae's punches, making her lose balance. It took this opening to then land a powerful punch onto her, sending her crashing to the ground.

Angel, during all of this, was so hesitant to shoot her Nature Dust arrows at the robot, fearful that she will end up hitting Lynae in the process. But it was only after Lynae got sent flying that she started shooting.

"That right there," Elcrest pointed out, "Ms. Webber only began firing her shots after Kyanos took the blow and was sent out of her range. Hesitation is a hunter's greatest enemy. What if that hit Kyanos took was a killing blow that Webber could have prevented had she fired her shots?"

"Not to mention that Lynae is being too reckless and is wasting her stamina on all out attacks," Aoife said, "She is indeed strong, but what purpose does that strength have if a shield can block any attack she unleashes?"

They then looked over to Guendolen and Dourado's fight against U-55.

Guendolen had no trouble dodging the robot's dust arrows on her way to the target. She jumped up towards U-55 and thrusted Blue Hypergiant into its chest, but the attack didn't put a dent into the robot's strong armor plating. Guendolen continued her assault while the robot's armor was not showing any signs of wavering.

Dourado, however, couldn't find an opening to use to his advantage because of how fast both fighters were moving.

U-55 circled around Guendolen and shot a dust arrow at her.

Guendolen was forced to block the attack and was sent flying onto a tree.

"I've heard that members of the Pretorius family refuse help from outsiders, but seeing that habit in person saddens me," Elcrest said, "What a waste for Ms. Pretorius to not utilize Dourado to his full potential. No matter how skilled she may be, she will not be able to defeat U-55 on her own."

"Not to mention that Dourado seems overwhelmed as if Guendolen's skills as a hunter are outmatching his, but that is not the case," Aoife said, "Dourado excels in defense and his weapon is capable of crushing enemy defenses while Guendolen excels in speed and precise strikes. The two of them must learn to put aside their feelings and utilize their strengths and cover each other's weaknesses."

Finally, they took a look at Nathan and Seraph's battle against T-84 and T-46.

Out of the four teams, Nathan and Seraph's seem to be having the least trouble. The synchronization of their movement and attacks were near perfect and they showed barely any signs of slowing each other down.

However, a problem arises for the duo. Nathan was having a slightly harder time fighting T-84 due to a lack of experience in sword fighting, forcing Seraph to assist him in a 2v1. It's also more of an issue because throughout the fight, Seraph's semblance allowing him to slow time keeps activating at irregular moments, costing him a lot of his stamina. This causes both of them to be open to gun fire from T-46, keeping them locked both against one opponent.

"Not bad for a first test drive of the new armor for Nathan," Elcrest said, "But I'm sure he's realized long before now his main issue as a hunter. He's using his armor and Grimm powers as a crutch. If this is how he fights, he will not last long against an Elder Grimm, let alone a skilled hunter."

"And Seraph doesn't have full control of his semblance, thus it keeps activating at unnecessary times," Aoife said, "Even from here I can tell that he is getting worn out far too soon. If they both continue to put strain on their stamina, they will lose the fight."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~With Nathan and Seraph~~_

"These bots…aren't playing around, Seraph," Nathan said, seeing that his attacks were barely doing damage to them.

"Yeah…" Seraph said, breathing heavily in and out.

"You okay?" Nathan asked, turning to Seraph.

"S-something's happening with my semblance," Seraph said, "It keeps activating when I don't want it to and it's making me lose stamina. We have to finish this quick or we'll be in trouble."

"Hm…" Nathan again scanned the robots and recognized their armor, "Magnesium!"

"Magwhat?" Seraph asked.

"Magnesium," Nathan repeated, "A mineral that is important for normal bone structure. Those robots are made from it."

"Okay, and this helps us how?" Seraph asked.

"The melting point of magnesium is approximately 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit," Nathan explained, "We just need something really hot to melt these things with."

"Ah, I see," Seraph said, "Well you called for the right person. The people of Morillia Kingdom, my family especially, use fire dust in combat. Give me an opening and I'll have those bots melted in an instant."

"I'm counting on you," Nathan said, "I'll try to draw their attention on me. Just make sure the one with the gun doesn't see your approach or it will warn the one with the sword."

"Easier said than done, but let's do it then," Seraph said.

Nathan sprouted his Grimm wings and took off into the air. He circled around the robots in an attempt to gain their attention.

It worked.

T-46 opened fire on Nathan in the sky, aiming for his wings.

Nathan maneuvered away from the bullets, managing to keep himself from being hit by them.

"Seems like me being a Grimm has agitated them," Nathan said, "Good."

Nathan saw that T-84 had ran up a tree and jumped high enough to reach him in a clash of swords. The strength of the robot was enough to bring Nathan back to ground level.

Now struggling to stand his ground and seeing that T-46 was about to fire upon him while he's pinned down, Nathan then gave the signal.

"Now, Seraph!" Nathan shouted.

Seraph had run behind T-46 with Kitsuki embedded in fire so hot that the heat wavers around it were visible. With one swift strike, he cut the robot in half with his fire attack, melting the remains into a liquidized magnesium, "One down."

Nathan took this chance to push him strength to the limit and gain the upper hand against T-84. He kicked the robot away and prepared his own attack against it, "Seraph, with me!"

"Got it!" Seraph shouted, preparing to launch another fire attack.

Nathan covered Fallen Angel with darkness dust and moved with Seraph to hit T-84 in a pincer attack.

Just as the two reached their target, the robot jumped high in the air to avoid the attack.

While Seraph was shocked by this maneuver, Nathan wasn't and jumped up in the air to meet the robot.

"Not getting away from us!" Nathan shouted as he plunged the sword into the robot's chest plate and then kicked it back down, "Your turn, Seraph!"

Seraph was ready to move into the target as he went to attack T-84 with a sword strike.

However, the robot rebounded and parried the attack.

As it moved to counter, Seraph's semblance then activated, giving him enough time to reposition his body and counter parry the parry. All of this happened within five seconds in his perspective when in reality it was one second.

"Got you now," Seraph shouted, activating the Argyros style for more strength into his attacks. He performed two, powerful horizontal slashes across the robot's body, then one vertical slash, and finally the finishing blow involving a strong stab to the robot's head.

The string of fire attacks caused the robot to melt down to its last bots.

Both Nathan and Seraph breathed a sigh of relief at the defeat of their enemies.

"Nice call on the magnesium, Nathan," Seraph said, "I never would have figured that out at first glance."

"All I did was make an observation," Nathan replied, "You did most of the work. Not to mention that if I didn't have you on my team for this particular matchup, who knows what would have happened."

"I will say that your battle experience is really lacking compared to me and my sister," Seraph pointed out, "Guess you're lucky you have that armor and those Grimm powers."

"Yeah, but these things I have won't be enough in the future," Nathan said, "If just two bots can put us through this trouble…"

"There's no need to think about that, Nathan," Seraph said, "When this is over, I'm more than willing to give you a few pointers on fighting."

"Really?" Nathan asked.

"I mean…if you want to, you know," Seraph said, turning away from Nathan, "You can refuse if that's not okay with you. I-I'll be fine if you do so."

" _Seraph never was good at hiding his feelings. Especially his positive ones,"_ Nathan thought to himself before he said to Seraph, "I'll accept your offer, Seraph. Thank you."

" _Shit, I wasn't expecting him to accept!"_ Seraph thought to himself before taking in a deep breath, _"Just stay calm and act normal, Seraph,"_ He turned to Nathan with a smile that came across as cheeky as if he was hiding something, "I'm happy to hear that, Nathan. I look forward to it!"

"Uh…" Nathan found Seraph's smile odd, but he decided not to comment on it, "…Okay…well let's head on to Nabenta Forest."

"Y-yes, r-right," Seraph said, clearing his throat, _"I am not smiling like that ever again."_

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~With Aoife~~_

"What an interesting display those two showed," Elcrest said, "Near perfect synchronization and careful planning. It seems Therion's knowledge over all metals in the world will prove a great asset."

"Those two still have a lot to learn, but it makes me happy seeing them talk to one another like friends," Aoife said, "Their families went through enough already."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~With Angel and Lynae~~_

"Gah!" Lynae screamed as she was knocked back again by G-28's counter punch.

"Lynae!" Angel shouted.

"Grr…I'm fine…" Lynae said, standing back up again, her body bruised from the times she was sent plummeting into the ground several times, "Haven't even made a dent into that thing."

"U-um…maybe we should…"

"Alright, sixth time's the charm!" Lynae shouted, moving to attack the robot again.

"Wait, Lynae!" Angel shouted loudly enough to make Lynae stop in her tracks.

"Huh?" Lynae asked, turning to Angel, "What's up, Angel? We don't have time for idle chit-chat."

"Yes, we do," Angel said, "Look at the robot."

Lynae turned her attention back to G-28, seeing that the robot still had its shield up but was not moving an inch from its spot.

"It's…not moving to attack," Lynae said.

"You were so focused on destroying it that you didn't notice," Angel said.

"Haha, yeah, sounds like me," Lynae said with a cheeky grin, "So what did you want to chit-chat about?"

Angel let out a sigh of frustration and pinched her forehead, "It's not "chit-chat"," She said, "I was wanting to form a plan to take that thing down properly. I had a good look at the robot's fighting pattern and noticed something."

"Which is?" Lynae asked.

"Its shield is always in its left hand, but it never switches to its right when you attack from that side," Angel said, "Perhaps we can use that to our advantage."

"Ah, so attacking it from two sides, maybe?" Lynae asked.

"Yes," Angel said, "What kind of dust do you use to fight?"

"I use lightning dust," Lynae said.

"What?!" Angel asked, her eyes widening in shock.

"I said lightning dust," Lynae said, "Is something wrong?"

"How did you get lightning dust?!" Angel asked, "That's one of the four rarest dust types in Vastel!"

"Ooooh! That," Lynae said, "I keep forgetting how rare the dust I use is."

There are eight elements of dust in Vastel separated into two groups of four.

The first group is known as the Common Dust Group: Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth. This group of dust are easy to find in the natural environments throughout Vastel. Humans are able to interact with these natural environments and found methods that allow quicker process of creating dust off this group. These methods are carried out by facilities associated with the elements such as watermills, wind generators, mining facilities, and steam workshops all of which contain dust converters used to turn water, wind, rocks, and coal into the needed dust.

The second group is known as the Rare Dust Group: Darkness, Light, Blood, and Lightning. This group of dust are difficult to come by because humans are unable to physically interact with the listed elements. Thus, time must pass naturally until the elements themselves to produce dust—a process that takes years. The only quick way to obtain rare dust is also the most dangerous: Through an Elder Grimm releasing a part of their energy. Each time an Elder Grimm performs their signature elemental attack (for example, Ragnarök's dark fire breath attack), small fragments of the rare dust are left behind and take crystalized form after a period of time. Some would call the dust "Elder Grimm Residue"."

"Well you see, it has something to do with where I trained and…" Lynae then stopped, realizing they were in the middle of an important pre-test, "Actually, we'll save that story for later. What you need to know now is that I can use lightning dust with Chimera to do all sorts of crazy things."

"Okay…" Angel said, still curious about how Lynae got such a rare dust type, "Since lightning is capable to disabling machinery with enough power, we have a better chance at taking this thing out more effectively."

"Wasn't that what I was doing a moment ago?" Lynae asked.

"No, you were just trying to ram your head against a brick wall," Angel said bluntly as she took out blue dust of her own, "I have water dust. When combined with lightning, water can become deadly to any in close proximity to it. What I need you to do is distract that robot for a few seconds while I set everything up."

"Wait, this plan of yours won't put me at risk, will it?" Lynae asked, worried at what the little faunus has planned.

"Oh, don't worry, Lynae. Your aura should keep you safe from what's about to happen for about…" Angel paused for a second and then said, "Seven seconds at the least."

"That…doesn't make me feel any better," Lynae said before she began stretching her arms, "But…it's not like I would come up with a plan any less dangerous so count me in. Besides, I have something other than aura that'll keep me safe from any danger. You owe me a sparring match after this, okay?"

"A sparing match?" Angel asked, thinking back to how Lynae's match against Nathan ended.

"Aha, right, the last match I did," Lynae said, quickly remembering that match as well, "Then how about a girl's night out. Just you and me."

"Sure," Angel agreed, "I look forward to it."

As Lynae approached G-28, she let out a smirk as sparks of lightning ignited on her fingers, "Alright, tin can. This time I'll turn you into scrap!"

Lynae rushed at the robot from its far-right side, drawing its attention as planned. She moved to land a powerful kick to its legs.

G-28 responded with a block from its impenetrable shield.

It was at that moment that Angel prepared her own attack. She embedded three arrows with water dust, forming three water arrows with a stream of water connecting the bow to allow her to prepare her strike. She carefully aimed at the back of G-28, paused for a brief moment, and then moved her bow slightly to the left and opened fire.

When the arrows connected, a stream of water began to pour into the robot, causing its body to short circuit. Electrical sparks began to come off of its body in all directions.

Lynae saw this and smirked, "Ah yeah! Lightning for me to use!" She shouted as she pointed her gauntlets at the robot.

The electricity shot out onto Lynae's gauntlets, treating them as a metal conductor. Once she had gathered enough on her gauntlets, Lynae ran towards G-28 with her fists embedded in electricity.

The robot moved to activate its shield.

"No, you don't!" Angel shouted, shooting another water arrow, hitting the robot's shield arm. The excess of water coursing through its circuits caused the shield to no longer be working.

Lynae was in range and smashed the robot with a strong, lightning punch. The force of the attack sent every bolt and wire inside the robot flying out of its body as it crashed into the ground with a huge thud.

Once the robot shut down, Lynae wiped the dirt off her nose with her thumb and smiled, "Water and lightning, the most dangerous combination of dust imaginable. I like that."

"Great work, Lynae," Angel said, "You really are strong."

"Heh, did I impress you?" Lynae asked, "They don't call me the Underground Queen of Ganvie for nothing. But still…I wouldn't have beaten that thing without your quick-thinking skills, Angel."

Angel's cheeks heated up, "O-oh my strategy wasn't that great. I still have a lot to learn."

"Maybe so, but you've impressed this gal," Lynae said, "You even figured out the robot's weak point and made use of that. I was expecting something like that from Nathan."

"Well, I'm more so a person who understand living organisms' body structures than a machine, but for robots like that one I don't see much of a difference when it comes to structure," Angel said, "That's how I figured that hitting its arm with water would short circuit the shield and that hitting the back would impede it's reaction time."

"So basically, you kicked ass," Lynae said, not understanding a word Angel just said.

"Uuuuh, yeah…" Angel said, giggling a little before she went along with Lynae's unrelated explanation, "So there shouldn't be anything else standing in our way. Let's head on into the forest."

"Sure thing," Lynae said as the two continued on to Nabenta Forest.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~With Aoife~~_

"Feels like I'm looking at the same person…" Elcrest said.

"What was that, Director?" Aoife asked.

"…I was commenting on how unexpected Ms. Webber's sudden change in personality was," Elcrest replied, "Beneath that all that shyness, there's a wise hunter who can pinpoint weaknesses at a single glance. A powerful skill that only one from the Snow Crescent Moon Clan can possess."

"Indeed, though there is a lot about Ms. Webber that worries me," Aoife said, remembering that time when Angel jumped away from her in fear, "Director, do you have any idea why the daughter of the deceased leader of the Snow Crescent Moon clan is here in Astea?"

"I'm more concerned with the how than the why, Ms. Chanadani," Elcrest said, "After all, it is strange for the daughter of a renown hunter like Kane Webber to just disappear from the face of Vastel and then pop out of nowhere like nothing happened."

"…And what of Kyanos?" Aoife asked.

"Not anyone can just win the title "Underground Queen" and not live up to the expectations set by such a title," Elcrest commented, "It is such a shame that the Kingdom of Ganvie still has that caste system. Because of that system, people like Kyanos are overlooked despite their promising potential. Although, Kyanos's narrow approach to certain situations can prove fatal, but that's nothing you can't teach, Ms. Chanadani."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~With Jack and Acacia~~_

"Damnit…" Jack cursed as he felt a bruise on his left arm he received from A-3. He watched as Acacia keep the robot at bay while Jack recovered from the attack, but the robot was evading every attack Acacia sent at it, "I can't land a hit on that thing. It keeps dodging my attacks and keeping a distance from me, but keeps closing in on Acacia."

Acacia was then hit in the abdomen and sent skidding back against a tree.

A-3 then followed up with an overhead attack.

Jack managed to ignore the pain from his left arm and threw Wind Bracer at the robot, but the attack didn't connect as the robot moved back from the trajectory path away from Acacia.

"Thanks, Jack," Acacia said.

" _Perhaps I should use my dust,"_ Jack thought to himself.

"Are you not even going to respond?" Acacia asked.

"I'm in the middle of something, right now," Jack said as he saw A-3 rush at him again, but this time he was prepared. He took out a small, white ball and threw it on the ground. The ball turned out to be a smoke bomb that covered the area in a thick smoke. Taking this chance, Jack quickly ran to a coughing Acacia, took her hand, retreated into the bushes.

"Whoa! What was that—"

"Shh!" Jack let out as the smoke died out and the robot was left alone.

"One way or another I will land a hit on this thing," Jack said, "I just need to make sure my strategy will work."

"Really?" Acacia asked, "You made a plan without me?"

"I did," Jack said.

"Do you not trust me?" Acacia asked, "We're in this together, you know."

"…No, I don't trust any of you anymore than I trust Therion," Jack said bluntly, "I've lived most of my life that way."

"Ah, you were born into the life of a bandit, right?" Acacia asked.

"H-how did you know that?!" Jack asked.

"Hehe, Professor Chanadani spilt the beans while she was venting to me while drunk," Acacia said, remembering how red Aoife's face was.

"Damnit Professor…" Jack muttered.

"I understand if you don't want to talk more about your history, but you can't let that secretive nature of yours effect the battlefield," Acacia said, "We need to talk with each other about our plans because we are a team."

"A team…" Jack said before he turned away, "I would prefer not to call our group that."

"Then how about a friend then?" Acacia asked, "Help out one friend as that friend helps you out."

"You're persistent. I'll give you that," Jack said with a sigh before he replied, "I specialize in wind dust. I'll need to know what dust element you specialize in so I can form a plan."

Acacia stopped for a moment after hearing Jack's request. She gazed towards the ground.

Jack noticed this and said, "If you're not willing to be as open about your abilities, then you shouldn't have—"

"No, it's…it's fine," Acacia said as she closed her eyes. Then her tonfa's began to have a red liquid begin to envelope on the lilac blades at the end of it.

Jack looked towards her weapons bewildered, "What the—?!" He took a closer look at the red liquid and his eyes widen in complete shock, "Is this…blood?!"

Acacia opened her eyes but said nothing as she picked up her Pressured Grove, which confirmed that it was blood as it remained on the weapon, "Yes, it's blood…my blood."

"You have…Blood Dust?" Jack asked as he saw Acacia nod in response, "If you have blood dust, that means the rumors were true. There are people who can utilize that rare dust. But if that's the case, then Acacia…you…"

"Never mind me," Acacia said, "Now that we've told each other our abilities, can we make a plan to beat that robot?"

"Yes, of course," Jack said, "With your blood dust, we have a chance of beating that robot."

"That's good to hear," Acacia said, "So here's what I've come up with. Do you know what blood is made of?"

"Liquids and solids," Jack answered, "Specifically protein…and water and salt. So that's why it was dodging all of your attacks. Taking in water and salt can shut down a machine easily."

"Right you are," Acacia said, "I was trying to find an opening to use my blood attacks, but sadly that robot is too agile for me to fight one-on-one."

"Then that's where I come in," Jack said, "I'll keep him distracted, while you find the opening to strike," Jack said.

"Leave it to me," Acacia said.

Jack nodded before he gripped his Wind Bracer and rushed out of the books to distract A-3. As he fought toe-to-toe, he couldn't help but think about what Acacia being a blood dust user entails, given how little about herself Acacia isn't willing to enclose.

" _The rumor about blood dust…I've heard that of the four rare dust types, blood dust is the hardest to possess and the most dangerous to use,"_ He thought, _"Not only that, but the cost of obtaining blood dust to begin with…"_ He stopped his line of thinking as he found a chance to use his wind dust.

Jack embedded Wind Bracer with wind dust and created a tornado like wind stream that caused A-3 to lose a little of its footing. This allowed Jack the chance to launch a quick slash that was quickly blocked by the robot…something he wanted it to do.

The impact from the blades connected with each other pushed A-3 further off the ground eventually causing it to be caught up in Jack's wind tornado.

"There's your opening, Woods," Jack called out.

"With pleasure," Acacia said, standing on a long tree branch. She jumped down but gripped onto the branch, causing it to build up momentum before it flung her into the air high enough for her to be above A-3, "Come my blood," She whispered as her blood embedded itself on the blades of Pressured Grove. She then performs an aerial spinning as she descended onto the robot and landed a clean hit on it.

Not only did she slice A-3 in half, she also got most of the blood inside the machine's circuits, causing it to no longer function properly.

After Acacia landed, she let out a deep breath before stopping the blood flow to the weapons, "That's a major nuisance taken care of."

Jack stood in silence as he sheathed his Wind Bracer and crossed his arms.

Acacia noticed Jack's silence and approached him, "Hello? Is Jack in there?"

"I am," Jack said, backing away after seeing Acacia approach him, "But you don't have to get so close to me."

"Oh? You're backing away?" Acacia asked, "Does my control of my blood frighten you?"

"Far from it," Jack replied.

"Well if you say so," Acacia said sheathing Pressured Grove, "Now…which way do you think Nabenta Forest is?"

"If my memory's right, we should be north of Nabenta Forest," Jack said, "How inconvenient that they decided to drop us in the middle of another forest far away from the objective."

"That's fine with me," Acacia said, "It gives the two of us time to get to know each other. Doesn't that sound nice to you, Jack?"

"No thanks," Jack said as he turned around, but before he could make the full turn, he stopped as if he was contemplating something, "But there is something I want to know."

"Which is?" Acacia asked.

"You have blood dust, a very dangerous and rare dust type. I know about the…complications that come with being born with that kind of affinity," Jack said, "So why did you decide to tell me something so private? I know I asked because I told you what my dust affinity is, but you…"

"…I'm not one to tell people much about myself," Acacia said, "I'm more interested in learning about others and understanding them. That doesn't mean that I don't tell people under any circumstance. We needed a plan, we told each other our strengths, and worked as a team. Isn't that enough?"

"If that's what you say, then I suppose…but—" Jack was interrupted when Acacia pointed her finger close to his face.

"However, you're not getting any more out of me than that," Acacia said, "Because you need to provide the same."

"The same?" Jack asked before he realized right there and then the true motive for Acacia telling him about her dust affinity. He let out a sigh, "Very sneaky of you. Telling me such an important secret to get me to do the same."

Acacia let out a smug giggle.

"Well, I'll think about that one day," Jack said, "For now, let's be done with this pretest."

"Indeed," Acacia said as the two of them make their way to Nabenta Forest.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~With Aoife~~_

"Blood Dust…" Elcrest said after they both saw Acacia's attack, "It's been years since I last saw a person with that affinity. Did you know about this, Ms. Chanadani?"

"No, I wasn't, Director," Aoife said, "From what I've read of Ms. Woods's bio, the only thing that stood out was the lack of a named dust affinity. I was curious and kept a close eye on her in particular, but I haven't found anything until now."

"So now we have our darkness, fire, water, lightning, wind, light, earth, and now blood," Elcrest said, "I am curious about something, Ms. Chanadani."

"Curious about what?" Aoife asked.

"Why did you choose this group of students?" Elcrest asked, "Everyone else besides Therion. Not all of them had the best grades in the entrance exams and the ones who do have the best grades have no relation or prior meeting with Therion."

"…"

"And looking over their personalities and studying how they blend together…" Elcrest said, but he then shook his head and went silent.

"Were you about to say something, Director?" Aoife asked.

"Ah, what am I saying?" Elcrest asked, "Perhaps it's only a coincidence."

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~With Guendolen and Dourado~~_

Of the four groups, Guendolen and Dourado have been having the hardest time against their opponent. Not only is their teamwork non-existent, but Guendolen is leaving Dourado with nothing to do and continues to go on the offensive against U-55.

U-55 had been firing small but fast dust arrows at Guendolen.

Being skilled at deflecting small projectiles, Guendolen was able to deflect every dust arrow with ease; however, this has gone on for ten minutes with no progress.

Finally, tired of being in the sidelines, Dourado began shouted, "GUENDOLEN! WILL YOU LET ME HELP YOU ALREADY!"

Guendolen didn't say anything and pretended she didn't hear Dourado's shouts. She focused on the opponent in front of her, "The outer shell is difficult to penetrate. How am I supposed to do this?"

"HEY! GUENDONLEN!" Dourado shouted again.

Guendolen's eyebrow twitched a little as she continued ignoring the distracting screams, "Remain focused. Every enemy has a weakness. I just need to find it."

"DON'T PRETEND YOU CAN'T HEAR ME!" Dourado shouted again, "I KNOW YOU CAN!"

"This robot uses dust arrows from a long range," Guendolen continued, "Getting close is the obvious course of action, but how when it is so mobile? Perhaps if I use something to immobilize it…"

"GUENDOLEN!" Dourado shouted in her ear.

Guendolen didn't flinch even a little, but she rubbed her ear in pain, "I am in the middle of something important, Mr. Ouro. And I believe I told you not to address me so casually."

"Finally, you've noticed that I exist," Dourado said, breathing a sigh of exhaustion, "I was wanting to tell you that maybe we should pull back to come up with a plan."

"I've already come up with a plan," Guendolen said, "This robot won't be in our way for much longer."

"You're just going to do the same thing you've been doing for the past ten minutes, aren't you?" Dourado asked with an unamused expression.

"I have no time for your senseless japes," Guendolen said.

"You know you can use my help," Dourado said, "It seems like I can break through that thing with ease if I can get close."

"If I were to accept help from you, it would be a disgrace to my bloodline," Guendolen said, "I can handle this opponent by myself."

Dourado was about to object to that statement but U-55 flew high into the air began firing upon them again, causing Guendolen to jump to the side to avoid it.

"Grr, it's rude to interrupt a conversation!" Dourado shouted as he used Gloria Eterna to block the dust arrows.

While U-55 was distracted, Guendolen took the chance to flank it by jumping up in the air while performing one of her family's special attacks.

One of Guendolen's light dust attacks involves coating her Blue Hypergiant with light dust and slashing a target 84 times within the blink of an eye—84-Pretorious Dance.

Because of light dust, Guendolen is able to attack at tremendous speed, but this sacrifices tremendous strength. However, this style of fighting is akin to the Death by a Thousand Cuts, a fighting style used by the Pretorius family.

Unfortunately, Guendolen's attack did not make a dent into U-55.

"It can't be," Guendolen said as she began falling back to the ground.

That was when U-55 put both of its hands together to form a massive bow that started charging up energy and aimed at Guendolen.

"Guendolen!" Dourado shouted before thinking to himself, "It's no good. She won't be able to dodge in the air."

Guendolen was in the air and couldn't shift her momentum to dodge the attack. Another weakness of the Pretorius style of fighting with speed alone.

" _If that hits me, I'll lose all of my aura!"_ Guendolen thought as she prepared to block the attack.

U-55 fired a huge dust arrow at Guendolen that moved slow but was fast enough to close the distance.

"Guendolen!" Dourado shouted as he jumped up in the air with his Gloria Eterna still in shield form and he grabbed a tight hold of Guendolen as he blocked the attack.

When the attack hit his shield, they were both sent crashing into the ground.

When the dust cleared, Guendolen was unharmed while Dourado sustained minor damages to his back.

"Ah…that's going to hurt in the morning," Dourado grunted as he looked at Guendolen, who was huddled close to his chest, "You okay, Guen."

Guendolen let out an annoyed sigh, "How many times do I have to tell you not to refer to me in such a manner? And I told you that I don't need your help, so let go of me."

"Not yet!" Dourado said while keeping her from leaving the protection of his shield, "If you leave my shield, that thing will aim for you. My shield's strong enough to take any attack forever, so let's take this time to make some kind of plan. One that involves me, please?"

Guendolen didn't say a word.

"Guen—I mean—Miss Pretorius, I don't know you as much as a teammate should, I'll admit that. But it hurts to think that you might not want my help because you don't like me. I'm not as smart, fast, or perfect like you, but I can tell that you need my help just as I need yours, and people help each other out through tough situations. We don't have to be friends, but we do have to be teammates in this battle and in the battles to come."

"…" Guendolen looked into Dourado's eyes and said, "I am a Pretorius. Our family motto is to always share the responsibility and principle of the Guardian of Light: Be Vastel's one and only sword. Be Vastel's one and only shield…and be Vastel's one and only sacrifice for a brighter world."

"You really believe that?" Dourado asked.

"…I would have unconditionally, if it weren't for my mentor," Guendolen said, "What do you believe, Mr. Ouro?"

"I believe that life is a precious treasure that should not be thrown away without a second thought," Dourado said without hesitation, "That includes your life! You came to this academy for a reason, right?! If so, then please! Let me help you achieve that goal!"

"…" Guendolen nodded, "Very well. I will allow for your help, but you mustn't tell anyone, understand? If my family hears of what I'm about to do…"

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me," Dourado said.

"Then let us form the plan, then," Guendolen said, "How much damage can your shield take?"

"Well, it's able to stop something as powerful as a stampede of 200 bulls," Dourado explained.

"And your sword? How powerful is it?" Guendolen asked.

"Gloria Eterna used to belong to my dad," Dourado said, "Back when he used it, people said he could crush one of those scorpion Grimm with one swing."

"A Death Stalker?" Guendolen asked.

"Yes, though I'm not sure if I can do the same, and the stories may be exaggerated," Dourado said with an awkward smile, "But, I have faith in Gloria's strength."

"That's fine," Guendolen said, "Anything else?"

"Oh yeah, I can use earth dust, but the most I can do is chuck rocks."

"You can throw rocks…" Guendolen said before she nodded, "Okay, here's the plan. I will rush off to my left side, drawing the robot's attention. That robot will react if we approach directly so we'll approach in a more subtle way."

"Subtle way?" Dourado asked.

"After I break off, you'll throw dust rocks at it to draw it's attention. We'll circle around it and take turns with it's attention," Guendolen said, "It may be a robot but it can only calculate so much data at a time."

"Ah, I see," Dourado said, "We're going to confuse it by making it focus on it's front and back side!"

"…" Guendolen didn't want to point out the fact that she just explained that to him, "Once we get close enough to it, I'll attack it from the air. I won't do much damage but I'll do just enough to knock it towards you.

"Then I'll land the blow," Dourado said.

"Are you ready?" Guendolen said.

"Ready," Dourado said.

"On three then. One. Two. Three!" Guendolen shouted as she separated from Dourado, drawing U-55's attention.

When U-55 aimed it's bow towards Guendolen, it was hit from behind by a medium sized rock.

"HEY! PAY ATTENTION TO ME, YOU BIG PILES OF BOLTS!" Dourado shouted as he used earth dust to form another medium sized rock in his hand and chucked it at the robot.

U-55 dodged the attack and shot more dust arrows at Dourado.

"Whoops, guess I made him angry," Dourado said with a smirk as he began running in the same circle as Guendolen while staying on her opposite side.

Seeing a chance to draw attention again, Guendolen embedded her sword with light dust and performed a Pretorius attack that involved a slash projectile made of light to cut through the target—Bright Rangeki.

The attack hit U-55's backside, drawing it's attention towards Guendolen.

"It's working!" Guendolen shouted as she jumped up high in the air, "Get ready, Mr. Ouro!" She shouted as she descended onto U-55 with another Pretorius special, an aerial attack that involves a pierce attack that requires pinpoint accuracy and speed—Piercing Flash.

As predicted, U-55 dodged Guendolen's attack, but it went below her to dodge which is just what she wanted.

"Now, Mr. Ouro!" Guendolen shouted.

Dourado wasted no time and jumped up towards U-55, "You're history!" He embedded Gloria Eterna, which is now in its great sword form, with Quartz.

Quartz, according to the Mohs scale, is the fourth hardest rock in the world. People who possess earth dust affinity coat their weapons in rocks to perform crushing attacks on enemies that are immune to slash attacks. What rocks are coated onto the weapon is dependent on the skill level of the earth dust user with Quartz being the lowest while Diamond is the highest.

With his quartz-coated sword, Dourado hit the robot in the eye with a downward slash, bringing it crashing onto the ground with his sword, smashing it into pieces in a single attack that created a small crater—Quartz Quake.

Dourado smiled at their success and threw his arms in the air, "We did it!"

Guendolen landed safely on the ground and examined the remains of U-55, "All of that with just a single attack…"

"We make a great team, don't we, Miss Pretorius?" Dourado asked raising his hand towards her. After a few seconds of silence, Dourado then said awkwardly, "Uh…you're suppose to give me a high-five."

"A high five?" Guendolen asked.

"You don't know what a high five is?" Dourado asked, "Okay I'll show you."

"No thanks, I don't think it is necessary," Guendolen asked.

"Don't worry, you'll enjoy it," Dourado said, taking Guendolen's hand, "Okay, so all you have to do is quickly collide your hand with mine like this," He then used Guendolen's hand to perform the high five as an example and then let go of her hand, "Now give it a try."

Guendolen stared at her hand for a brief moment before putting it down, "It's really not the best time for that. We need to get to Nabenta Forest quickly."

"Aw…no high five? Seriously?" Dourado asked.

"Let's get moving," Guendolen said, "I am afraid we are far behind given the difficulty we had against a test robot."

As Guendolen moved to leave the area, she stopped and noticed Dourado wasn't moving.

"Something wrong, Mr. Ouro?" Guendolen asked.

"Oh…it's fine," Dourado said, with a smile, "I just…" He let out a sigh, "It's nothing."

"…" Guendolen could tell something was wrong and took a guess as to why and said, "I don't dislike you."

Dourado's eyes lit up after hearing her say that, "Y-You don't?"

"No," Guendolen explained, "In fact, I simply must compliment you on your strength and confidence. I never would have beaten that robot without you."

"Hehehe, stop, you'll make me blush," Dourado said, gushing over the compliment he just received.

"…Dourado," Guendolen said, snapping Dourado out of his trance.

This surprised Dourado because Guendolen was adamant about referring to each other in a formal manner.

"This will color your opinion of me, but I only agreed to receive your help in this fight and the fights to come because I objectively cannot defeat every enemy on my own," Guendolen said, turning to him, "But you can't help me fulfill my goal."

"What?!" Dourado asked in shock.

"The reason I came to this academy is not the same as yours or the others," Guendolen explained, "You all came here for selfless reasons: to protect your loved ones, the Vastel, and maybe even the world. I however…am here for my own reasons and nothing else."

"What do you mean?" Dourado asked.

"Let me tell you what I told Professor Chanadani before we arrived here," Guendolen said.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~With Aoife~~_

Aoife and Elcrest both watched Dourado and Guendolen successfully defeat U-55.

"It took them thirty minutes total," Elcrest said, "Disappointed, though it's expected. Those two have a lot of work to do."

"I had a feeling this would happen," Aoife said, "Those two do respect each other's capabilities, but their ideals are polar opposites to each other."

"But there's a bigger problem than that, Miss Chanadani," Elcrest said, "Guendolen is a Pretorius, a family that has cut ties will the outside world for generations after the disappearance of the Therion family line. Is it not odd that the moment Nathan, a boy who somehow has the Therion name, announced himself to the world, a Pretorius attends our academy with him?"

"What do you mean by "somehow"?" Aoife asked, "Nathan obviously got his name from his father."

Elcrest did not answer this question and continued, "Not only that, but I find this particular combination of personalities to be quite familiar," He then turned to Aoife, "Nathan's stoic nature, Guendolen's by-the-book diligence, Seraph's good sense of right and wrong, Dourado's pacifistic nature, Angel's shyness, Jack's quiet nature, Lynae's blunt attitude, and finally, Acacia's curiosity. You didn't happen to choose those kids to be in your class because they had the same personalities as the Vastel Guardians, did you?"

"Yes," Aoife answered, "I remember when Eli used to show me her book on the Vastel Guardians to me all the time. It may not have been an official historian book, but to us, that children's book told the story of a family that blessed this world once upon a time—a family that was torn apart and gave rise to this despair humanity is forced to endure."

"But that is just an imaginary interpretation of the story, written for children to enjoy before they learn the dreadful truth of Vastel," Elcrest said, "I won't stop you from trying to recreate a fictional story like that, but it is your responsibility to see that these students grow into Astea's finest hunters."

"You have my word. By the time of the final exam, they will be ready. Nathan and Guendolen especially," Aoife said, paying close attention to Nathan and Guendolen as she remembered the discussion she had with Guendolen.

 **XxxxxxxxxX**

 _~~Emblem Academy: Aoife's Office: (Two Hours Ago)~~_

" _Thank you for coming by, Guendolen," Aoife said as she sat with Guendolen._

" _With all due respect, Professor, I would prefer you not speak to me so casually," Guendolen said, "Now is there something you wish to discuss in regards to my pretest answers?"_

" _Yes, you noticed the part where I asked you to come speak with me," Aoife said, "You're wondering why I put Hunter Tactics as your weakness, right?"_

" _I am curious. Even though you said I had perfect scores, you still wrote a weakness of mine," Guendolen said._

" _It mostly has to do with your answers to the questions about teamwork specifically," Aoife said as she read out one of the questions, "You and two teammates are surrounded by a pack of Beowolves. Your medic teammate is wounded and needs time to apply first aid to themselves and your sniper teammate is useless as you are surrounded at close range. How will you, a hunter specialized in close combat, get out of this situation with you and your teammates alive? Now I want to be absolutely sure if you believe, wholeheartedly, what you wrote on the paper, Miss Pretorius. Do you?"_

 _Guendolen remained silent before she opened her mouth and said, "I believe my answer was this: Order my sniper teammate to carry the medic and follow me closely as I carve a path forward and find a way out. Once that is done, I stay behind to fend off the Beowolves, dying in the process. Despite this question asking for a way for all three individuals' survival be explained, it is objectively impossible for all three to survive no matter what answer given the context."_

 _Aoife's eyes widen in horror and her mouth dropped, "Guendolen…you…"_

" _Professor…" Guendolen said, reminding her about what she just told her._

"… _Miss Pretorius, you really believe that it would be impossible to save everyone including yourself?" Aoife asked._

" _Yes," Guendolen answered, "Is there a problem with my answer?"_

" _Not objectively, no," Aoife asked, "It is true that many variables are to be considered and that the context the question provides is broad, but…I have never had a single one of my students give such a…realistic answer like that."_

" _I apologize if I have disappointed you," Guendolen said._

" _No, you haven't," Aoife said as she looked into Guendolen's eyes, "What if this same scenario happens with you and the others?"_

" _I would need context, but it is highly likely that I would sacrifice myself," Guendolen answered._

" _Why, if I may ask?" Aoife asked._

" _Because…I am a Pretorius," Guendolen said, "Be Vastel's one and only sword. Be Vastel's one and only shield…and be Vastel's one and only sacrifice for a brighter world. That is the teachings of my family."_

" _Guendolen…" Aoife muttered to herself low enough so that Guendolen doesn't hear her._

" _I know this is something a student of me shouldn't tell you, but please, Professor, for yours and everyone else's sake," Guendolen said, "Do not think of me as your student, fellow hunter, or friend. My family and I are devout followers of the Guardian of Light. And as such, we are people who believe…"_

…

…

…

…

"… _that the Grimm should remain in this world as humanity's eternal punishment."_

* * *

 **Jurabi: Heeeeeeeellooooooooooooo~! This is Jurabi Therion, finally back after such a sudden, long, hiatus! I am so, so, SO, sorry, guys! I did not intend for me to take this long with the chapter. I just didn't.**

 **I have several reasons as to why I took so long.**

 **I had difficulty with the Jack and Acacia section.**

 **This is mostly because I was trying to figure out how to utilize gravity dust in battle without making it overpowered and I tried establishing rules and limitations for the dust but the rules ended up being so easy to break and just silly. So, to get around this finally, I decided to just replace the whole thing with Blood Dust. Most of these dusts will be explained after the pretest, but I'm definitely going to go more in depth with this at some point.**

 **I was busy trying to properly construct the world of Vastel, how it all connects, and future arcs in my head to make them all make sense.**

 **This might not seem like it could take time, but it really took time. Which leads me to something I need to say. I think the worldbuilding of this story is not good and it's kind of throwing me off a lot. It seems simple on paper, but something about the world I built does not seem right at all and it makes sense because I ended up building the world after the introduction chapter only AFTER so many people were confused trying to make their OC's with little knowledge of the worldbuilding. TLDR: When you're starting a story, build the world FIRST!**

 **I have been busy on my youtube channel.**

 **So, this is going to be a bit difficult to explain. I got a new and better PC for Christmas and the reason why I got a better PC is because I wanted to do Let's Plays on Youtube. I know, it sounds so out of left field, but I've wanted to find a way to prevent myself from getting burnt out when it comes to writing. I do love this story, but I started noticing that I've been putting in the same exact excitement as my One Piece story and I ended up just leaving that story entirely to try and start something fresh and interesting. I don't want that to happen with this story. I really don't. So yeah, I started a Let's Play Youtube channel where I just play games and comment on them and all that. It seems like a good way for me to just put down my writing brain and have fun with something else. Now that doesn't mean I'm abandoning this story, far from it. I just need something to go to if I'm ever feeling like I'm putting way too much energy into writing this story.**

 **I'm truly sorry for how long this chapter took, and I have a feeling chapters will come out a little slower because of this Let's Play stuff I'm doing. But it's not really like I had a writing schedule to begin with since I just write when I feel the urge to. I'll put the link to my youtube channel in my profile so check it out if you want to. That's basically the explanation.**

 **So, there's something else I want to mention, the next chapter is going to take some more time to get out. The reason being, as I've said before, the world building is not good in this story and I want to fix that. I'm going to be making a lot of changes to the world, how things are set up, and some characters here and there as well. The submitted OC's won't be touched at all, so don't worry, they'll still be the same. So, I'll be really focused on the previous chapters, giving them some polish, better world building, and a consistent way of doing fights. One of the major changes that will happen is with Nathan. I've pondered on this for a long time, but I'm going to do a redesign and renaming. The character will mostly stay the same in terms of him being unable to convey positive emotions due to being a Grimm. But he'll still be the MC but with a different name. And I will have to, once again, redo the Elder Grimm as well. At least some of them.**

 **I'm not entirely sure what the changes will be aside from the ones I just mentioned, but they will LIKELY happen. Emphasize on "likely". But if you guys aren't okay with that idea, I'm willing to try and press on, but I personally don't like the idea of keeping the beginning with so many fumbles, leaving a bad impression. Because I want a lot of people to enjoy reading this story.**

 **Anyways, guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter! If you did, please let me know in the reviews and leave a favorite and a follow and also join me on my own discord server to have a nice chat. Thank you very much for reading. See you next chapter~!**

 **Discord: (h) (t) (t) (p) (s) : / / discord . gg / yds39Vc**


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